According to reports in Italy, Southampton have officially tabled a bid for Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg ahead of a potential summer move to the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Svanberg heading for the exit

The 23-year-old first joined the Serie A side in a permanent deal from Malmo FF back in 2018, and has since gone on to become an integral part of Sinisa Mihajlovic’s starting XI, having made 123 appearances during his four-year spell to date.

The Swedish starlet has just over 12 months remaining on his contract at the Renato Dall’Ara, but could be heading for the exit door in the coming weeks as the Italian outfit look to raise some transfer funds.

The Latest: Saints make opening bid

In a new article published by La Gazzetta dello Sport (via TEAMtalk), it’s claimed that Southampton have ‘made an opening offer of €10m’ (£8.7m) for Svanberg.

The likes of Spurs, Everton and West Ham also named as potential suitors.

It’s reported that Bologna are ‘not set’ to offer their man a new deal, after he has openly spoken about his desire to make the move elsewhere and start a new challenge.

The Verdict: Partner for Ward-Prowse

Svanberg is currently valued at a career-high £13.5m, and so if the Saints could agree a fee for their target below that amount you would have to call it shrewd operating, taking advantage of his contract situation.

The 21-cap gem has been a regular feature for the Serie A team this season, scoring three goals and providing the same number of assists alongside averaging 1.1 shots and one key pass per game, via WhoScored.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is clearly on the lookout to find the perfect partner for James Ward-Prowse in the middle of the park, and if this bid gets accepted, we could be seeing Svanberg in the red and white stripes at St. Mary’s at the start of the new season.

In other news… Southampton are reportedly considering re-signing a former fan favourite.