According to reports in The Sun, Southampton have joined the race to sign £25m-rated Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, and he could even be involved in a swap deal for City target Ryan Bertrand.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Sun says that Saints have joined Premier League rivals Everton, West Ham United and Leicester City in the battle to sign the highly-rated 20-year-old.

The report says that new boss Mauricio Pellegrino is keen to add a new striker to his ranks ahead of next season, and the club has identified the Nigeria international as a potential target.

Meanwhile, Citizens boss Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of Bertrand and has been linked with a move for the 27-year-old England international for the majority of the summer, and a deal could potentially be done that would see both players switch clubs.

How did Iheanacho do last season?

Despite making a huge impression in the 2015/16 campaign under Manuel Pellegrini when he scored 14 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions for City, the 20-year-old found himself relegated to the third-choice option when Guardiola arrived last summer.

The signing of Gabriel Jesus caused that and the Nigerian’s playing time was limited last term, with the majority of his 29 outings coming from the substitutes’ bench, but he did still find the net on seven occasions.

Do Southampton need him?

Well, with Jay Rodriguez on the verge of a £14m move to West Bromwich Albion, Charlie Austin spending the majority of last season on the sidelines because of injury and Shane Long struggling for form, they probably do.

While they should have the latter duo and Manolo Gabbiadini next term, Pellegrino may feel that he needs another goal threat seeing as the club only scored 41 goals in 38 Premier League games in the previous campaign.

Would they be keen on the deal involving Bertrand?

They would probably jump at the chance.

The 27-year-old may feel that he needs to challenge himself at the highest level and play in the Champions League if he wants to be England’s first-choice left-back at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and that is something he can’t do at Southampton right now.

The fact that Saints also have youth products Sam McQueen and Matt Targett in reserve in that position could also make the deal more tempting for the south coast outfit, as they may feel that they already have their replacements for Bertrand in place.

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