So far this summer, Southampton have only brought in one player, talented young defender Jan Bednarek in a £5.1m deal from Lech Poznan, but undoubtedly the focus of the window was keeping hold of their best players, something the club has struggled to do in recent summers.
Virgil van Dijk is still at the club despite Liverpool’s advances and Ryan Bertrand is no closer to leaving the club also – positive news.
As we edge closer to August and the start of the 2017/18 season, Southampton could do with getting a wriggle on when it comes to bringing in new players to St. Mary’s this summer, and they’re listed as possible destinations for two of the most in-demand players on the market.
Bookmaker 888sport have listed the Saints as 20/1 outsiders to land Sporting Lisbon defensive midfielder William Carvalho this summer.
Carvalho has emerged as one of the finest young midfielder in European football over the last two or three seasons, being linked with moves to Arsenal and Manchester City in the process.
Now 25, Carvalho was part of the Portugal squad that won Euro 2016 last summer and has been again linked with a move to the Premier League this summer with West Brom seeing multiple bids rejected.
While Southampton are very strong in the midfield areas, adding a player of Carvalho’s class and quality would be an excellent move for Mauricio Pellegrino to make.
Bringing in Carvalho to play alongside Oriol Romeu in midfield not only gives the Saints that shield in front of the back four, but it allows the more creative players like Sofiane Boufal, James Ward-Prowse and Dusan Tadic to have a greater licence to roam in the attacking third.
The other player touted for Southampton is Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, with 888sport setting the market at 33/1 for the England international to move to the South coast this summer.
Smalling has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho, with the likes of Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Marcos Rojo all preferred to the former Fulham man at the heart of the defence.
Still only 27, Smalling has a lot to offer at the top level and his athleticism and ball-playing ability makes him the ideal partner for Virgil van Dijk going forward.
Additions to the squad are needed, but whether Southampton will strike deals for the pair remains to be seen.
