Southampton have joined a number of clubs in the race to sign Croatian Josip Vukovic in this transfer window, according to reports.
The 27-year-old currently plays for Maritimo in the Primeira Liga and played a vital role in keeping the side in the Portuguese top-tier.
TalkSPORT report that Leeds United and Aston Villa are also interested in the holding midfielder. It goes on to state that Leicester City, Watford and Wolverhampton all have scouted the player.
Vukovic has already rejected offers from Benfica, Lille and an unnamed Russian club, per the report, because the £1.5m rated player has his sights set on playing in England.
With Mario Lemina looking set to leave the club, Saints could do with some cover in the holding midfield position. According to the Daily Echo, the club are looking to recuperate the £15m they spent on the Gabonese midfielder, and with Vukovic said to cost only £1.5m, they could have a more than capable replacement for a tenth of Lemina’s fee.
The calibre of teams after his signature speaks volumes of how highly rated this midfielder is. It is also to the benefit of Southampton that he wants to play in England, as he has turned down two chances of Champions League football, and Southampton are probably the most established club out of those credited with an interest, the newly-promoted Aston Villa and Championship Leeds United.
The sale of Jordie Clasie and the presumed sale of Mario Lemina means that Southampton will start the season with only two holding midfielders in Harrison Reed and Oriol Romeu. Even though Hasenhuttl has previously preferred to play just one defensive midfielder alongside Hojberg in the middle of the park (Transfermarkt), they could still do with some added cover.
Indeed, the player in question averaged more tackles (per WhoScored) in 90 minutes in all but 6 of the Saints squad last season as well as more interceptions as all but four. With the aforementioned Lemina ranking highly in both of those metrics (2nd and 3rd respectively), there would certainly appear to space for an individual with these attributes.
Vukovic would be a shrewd signing from Southampton, who could be replacing Lemina with a capable midfielder, when looking at his statistics.
If he’s brought in, Vukovic would add some important steel to that midfield and give Hasenhuttl more options if an injury does come about. Having lost Clasie and probably Lemina, it’s important they secure a bit more cover to avoid a shaky situation.
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