Southampton are reportedly showing an interest in Hoffenheim midfielder Florian Grillitsch ahead of the summer transfer window.
According to Bild, Southampton are one of a number of clubs tracking the Austrian international, who has a release clause of €25m in his contract.
The report claims that Newcastle, Arsenal and Inter Milan are all also keen Grillitsch.
READ SOUTHAMPTON VERDICT
Would he be a good addition to Southampton’s midfield?
His performances this season for Hoffenheim suggest that he would not. He has recorded a WhoScored rating of 6.78 in the Bundesliga, which is lower than both of Southampton’s midfielders – James Ward-Prowse and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – have managed in the Premier League. Ward-Prowse is on 7.08, whilst Hojbjerg is also above Grillitsch with a score of 6.81.
The Saints pair are also around the same age as Grillitsch, as all three of them will be 25 by the start of next season. This means that they could be developing at a similar rate, which does not bode well for the Hoffenheim man as Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg are already out-performing him in terms of ratings.
For €25m, he does not seem worth the price in our view. If he is not able to turn in better performances than the players he could replace, why should Southampton splash out a huge fee for his signature?
This could be one Southampton may look to avoid and move on to other targets in the summer.
