Report: Southampton targeting Lyon defender Mouctar Diakhaby

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Southampton are reportedly eyeing a summer move for Mouctar Diakhaby with Lyon ready to sell the defender.

According to a report from The Sun (print edition; 24/05; page 62), Southampton have put themselves in the running to sign Mouctar Diakhaby, but will have to see off competition from Valencia if they hope to bag the 21-year-old’s signature.

The Saints fans will be hoping that the club are going to enjoy a very busy summer after a turbulent season. Mark Hughes’ men stayed up but went into the final day of the campaign with the slightest chance of being relegated if two ridiculous results took place.

The supporters will be hoping that the club look at the 17th place finish as a wake-up call after years of being amongst the top-half. And it appears that the Saints are wasting little time in getting their summer targets identified.

The Sun (24/05; page 62) reports that Diakhaby is available after a difficult season in Ligue 1, and the Saints are set to battle it out with Valencia for the France under-21 international during this window.

Diakhaby has made just 12 appearances in the French top flight this term largely due to injury. He has played five times in the Europa League, playing in both of their victories over Everton.

It was not the most convincing campaign, but he featured much more regularly the year before and has a handful of Champions League appearances under his belt also, so perhaps the Saints are confident that he is a much better player than the one on show this past season.

And given some of the gems that the club have uncovered in recent years – it is easy to forget how good Dejan Lovren was when he made the move from Lyon to Southampton in 2013, for example – perhaps there is reason to be optimistic about the youngster’s potential should the Saints win the race.