Southampton are ready to do battle with Leicester City to sign Sweden international Mattias Svanberg, according to Calciomercato.
Saints in Svanberg transfer battle
The Saints have been linked with a move for the Bologna midfielder, while Champions League chasers Leicester City are also in pursuit.
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The Serie A outfit are believed to be looking for €20m (£17.2m) to part ways with Svanberg.
Above budget
Svanberg has impressed in Italy with Bologna, scoring five times and providing two assists in 28 matches in the top flight this season (Transfermarkt). With seven caps to his name and at just 22 years of age, he clearly seems to have a big future ahead of him.
At Southampton, only Danny Ings exceeds his average of 1.8 shots per game, while James Ward-Prowse is the only midfielder to better his goal tally – and the Saints captain depends almost entirely on set pieces to find the net.
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However, the issue is whether the St Mary’s outfit can actually afford him. Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said recently that they will only be able to pay transfer fees of up to £10m (Sky Sports), meaning that Svanberg would be considerably over budget. There are going to be exceptions to every rule, but is the Bologna man really to be the man for whom they break the bank?
After all, they are likely to be able to sign more established players for a lower price. It remains to be seen whether Southampton stick to that transfer policy, but if they do, they will be priced out of a move for the Swedish midfielder.
In other news, many Southampton fans slammed this man’s performance against Leicester.
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