Southampton: £25m Portuguese star 'on the list' at St Mary's | OneFootball

Southampton have had Udinese striker Beto on their list of transfer targets, but a switch to St. Mary’s is unlikely as the club looks to alternative options ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has suggested to GiveMeSport.

Nathan Jones is looking to add a forward to his ranks as the Saints look to escape relegation from the Premier League.

Southampton transfer news – Beto

According to reports at the beginning of January, Beto was one of Southampton’s primary targets for the transfer window as Jones looks to bolster his options in the final third of the pitch.

However, news of a potential switch for the 24-year-old has gone quiet over the course of the last few weeks, hinting that the south coast outfit may have moved onto other attacking targets, with the club having made recently made a bid worth around £17.5m for the services of Rennes forward Kamaldeen Sulemana.

The Premier League’s basement side had been linked with a move for Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson before Bournemouth seemingly swooped him from under their noses (before failing a medical), whilst Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo also looks to have snubbed the St. Mary’s outfit for their local rivals.

Meanwhile, transfer insider Dean Jones has recently told GiveMeSport that Antalyaspor striker Haji Wright may not be the right profile of player to help keep Southampton in the top flight, amid rumoured interest.

And Crook believes that Beto has been on the Saints’ list of targets but can’t see a move happening, with a move for a striker in the £25m mark having been touted by the talkSPORT reporter.

What has Crook said about Southampton and Beto?

Crook told GiveMeSport: “Beto has certainly been on their list, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. They’ve got a couple of strikers in mind around that £25m bracket.”

Would Beto have been a good signing for Southampton?

Beto – who has been described as an “intelligent” player by journalist Josh Bunting – would likely have been an excellent addition for the Saints this January, having scored seven goals in 19 Serie A appearances during the current season.

The striker compares favourably to his positional peers, ranking in the top 17% of forwards across Europe’s big five leagues as well as the Champions League and Europa League for non-penalty goals scored per 90 minutes (0.53) over the last 365 days, as per FBref.

Southampton’s top scorer in the Premier League this season is James Ward-Prowse who has a total of five goals to his name, whilst the side’s most prolific forward is Ché Adams who has found the back of the net four times in the top-flight, suggesting the club could do with some extra firepower this month, with Sulemana perhaps being seen as the latest answer to their lacklustre form in front of goal.

It does seem unlikely that the Saints will acquire the services of Beto in January but it looks as though the club still haven’t given up in their search for a striker to fire them to safety during the second half of the campaign, with £25m likely to secure Jones a solid option in his the forward department.