Southampton join Celtic and PSV in race for Bayer Leverkusen player | OneFootball

Southampton are eyeing a potential summer agreement for Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Patrick Pentz, according to Football Insider.

The Saints are arguably in need of strengthening this position, at least temporarily, following Gavin Bazunu's injury.

The ex-Portsmouth loanee's setback is set to keep him on the sidelines for nine to ten months, which means he won't be back in action until the second half of next season.

Considering he looked to be the south-coast side's first-choice keeper for the long term, as a stopper who is still young and has plenty of potential, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Russell Martin enter the market to strengthen this position.

Alex McCarthy and Joe Lumley are the club's other senior goalkeeping options, but the former's contract expires at the end of the campaign and it wouldn't be a shock to see Lumley leave, having failed to win much game time this season.

Lumley put pen to paper on a one-year extension last month, but with McCarthy moving ahead of him in the pecking order following Bazunu's injury, it remains to be seen whether the former Reading loanee is willing to sit on the bench next season.

He could even be kicked out of the matchday squad altogether if the Saints are promoted at the end of the campaign, with Martin likely to have a bigger budget to play with if his team are promoted.

The Saints could potentially be in a strong position to get a deal over the line for Leverkusen's Pentz, especially if they are promoted at the end of the campaign.

But they look set to face competition from top-tier clubs, with Scottish Premiership giants Celtic and Eredivisie side PSV also thought to be tracking the player.

With Joe Hart set to retire, Brendan Rodgers is in desperate need of a new shot-stopper and could benefit from the fact Pentz's contract expires in 2025.

With his contract situation in mind, the three interested teams could potentially strike a cut-price agreement for the 27-year-old, even though he has impressed at Brondby this season.

Southampton could benefit from recruiting Patrick Pentz on key condition

Regardless of whether the Saints are promoted or not, it wouldn't be a surprise if they have the finances to sign Pentz permanently after selling a number of key players last summer.

But if the club remain in the second tier, it seems sensible to bring in a loanee rather than agree a permanent deal for Pentz.

With the 27-year-old's contract expiring in 2025, it would be difficult to see Leverkusen sanctioning a loan move to St Mary's for the shot-stopper this summer.

If Martin's side are promoted though, he could be a good keeper to have to compete with Bazunu in the long term, with Pentz still having plenty of years left in his career to develop further and push a player of the ex-Man City keeper's calibre for a starting place.

McCarthy and Lumley will eventually have to be replaced, so Pentz may not be a bad signing this summer.