Pundit reveals advantage Southampton may hold over Middlesbrough and Stoke in Matthew Sorinola race | OneFootball

Highlights

With the January transfer window upon us, there are plenty of reports and rumours circling around the EFL at present.

After a gruelling festive schedule, clubs are now able to strengthen their playing squads for the first time since the summer, and many are keen to take advantage of this fact.

One player being eyed by a number of Championship sides at present, for example, is defender Matthew Sorinola.

At the end of December, Sorinola and Belgian club Union Saint Gillioise agreed to mutually terminate the 22-year-old's contract, meaning that the player is now a free agent.

Naturally, this has alerted a number of sides, with a recent TEAMTalk report crediting four second-tier sides with an interest in Sorinola.

Southampton are one of these sides, for example, with the report claiming that Saints boss Russell Martin is happy to reunite with Sorinola, whom he has previously worked with at MK Dons.

Middlesbrough, Preston North End and Stoke City are the other three Championship sides credited with an interest.

Carlton Palmer: Southampton front-runners to sign Sorinola

With the above links in mind, we spoke to former England international midfielder and pundit Carlton Palmer for his thoughts on which of the four Championship sides might have the edge when it comes to landing the 22-year-old.

Given four teams are involved, it looks set to be a tough battle, but Palmer believes that Sorinola's previous relationship with Southampton boss Russell Martin could prove key.

"Southampton, Middlesbrough, Preston North End and Stoke are all keen to sign Matthew Sorinola," Palmer discussed with FLW.

"The 20-year-old is set to move back to England after terminating his contract at Belgian club Union Saint Gilloise, the club he joined back in 2021 after turning down a new contract at MK Dons.

"I think that Southampton and Russell Martin and are the front-runners given that he has worked with Martin before at MK Dons and Swansea City."

Matthew Sorinola: Where would he fit at Southampton?

If Sorinola were to sign for Southampton, Russell Martin would, of course, have to find a place for him in his squad and side.

From the outside looking in, there certainly appears to be a place for Sorinola, too.

Looking at Southampton's current left-back options, Ryan Manning is naturally the clear number one choice. However, outside of Manning, the Saints certainly lack depth.

On a free transfer, then, Sorinola could be a shrewd addition for Russell Martin's side, providing depth and competition for Manning in the second half of the season as the Saints look to pursue a Premier League return.