Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg is edging closer to moving to the Premier League with Southampton interested, so how have their recent arrivals from Serie A fared at St Mary’s?
Svanberg has enjoyed four productive seasons in Italy since leaving Malmo to test himself in new surroundings in 2018. The 23-year-old fast established a key first-team presence at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, and has gone on to make 123 appearances in all competitions.
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Boss Sinisa Mihajlovic unleashed Svanberg in 36 league games last term for his best single-season total to date. He also witnessed the 21-cap Sweden star produce his most creative campaign yet with three assists. Svanberg hit his most goals in a term with five in 2020/21.
Svanberg closing in on Premier League move with Southampton interested
Svanberg’s displays as Bologna finished the Serie A season in 13th now have Southampton interested in sealing his transfer. Calciomercato report Ralph Hasenhuttl is ready to spend €10m (£8.5m) to take the Swede to the English south coast, with a sale highly anticipated.
Scudetto winners AC Milan have explored securing Svanberg’s services in the past. But the Malmo-born technician is now getting closer and closer to leaving Emilia-Romagna for the Premier League, instead. He also admitted recently he ‘can imagine trying something new’.
Bologna are at risk of having to sell Svanberg amid Southampton’s interest this summer as the central midfielder is out of contract next year. The Rossoblu star would hope to enjoy a more productive St Mary’s spell than some of the Saints’ recent Serie A imports, however.
Lyanco is Southampton’s most recent Serie A signing amid Svanberg interest
Hasenhuttl secured Southampton’s most recent signing from Serie A last year with Lyanco for Svanberg to now potentially follow. The Saints bought the centre-back from Torino for £6.5m in August, but the Brazilian would only make 15 Premier League outings last season.
Lyanco had to wait until October to make his English top-flight debut as a late substitute at Watford. He made further cameos against Aston Villa and Norwich City before a first start against Liverpool in November, too. Six of his 15 league appearances came off the bench.
Hoedt hopped from Rome to Southampton in 2017 with Lazio departure
Wesley Hoedt hopped from Rome to Southampton in August 2017 after securing a £15m transfer from Lazio. The centre-back signed a five-year contract with the Saints, but made his last appearance for the club in November 2018 before a string of loan transfers away.
RSC Anderlecht brought the defender’s St Mary’s nightmare to an end last June after only 45 appearances for Southampton. He spent time on loan at Celta Vigo and Royal Antwerp in 2019 through to the summer of 2020, while returning to Lazio for the 2020/21 season.
Southampton broke club-record to secure Lemina transfer in 2017
Southampton broke their club-record spend to sign Mario Lemina from Juventus in August 2017 for £16m plus £2m in add-ons. The Gabon midfielder had won Serie A twice over two years in Turin, and also featured in the 2017 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Lemina made 52 appearances with Southampton over his two seasons at St Mary’s, before joining Galatasaray and Fulham on loan. Nice brought his Saints career to a permanent end last year for €4m (£3.5m) plus €2.5m (£2m) in add-ons, for whom he has played 36 games.
Gabbiadini sealed ‘dream’ Premier League transfer with Southampton
Napoli star Manolo Gabbiadini joined Southampton in February 2017, and hailed the move for fulfilling a fantasy. He said, via BBC Sport: “One of my dreams was to perform in one of the biggest leagues in the world. So, now that it’s happening, I can’t wait to start playing.”
But the Saints’ £14m signing left to return to Italy with current club Sampdoria in January 2019 for £11m. The 11-cap Italy striker enjoyed a prolific start at St Mary’s with four goals in his first three Premier League games, yet only hit another six in his following 48 outings.
Southampton terminated Taider loan from Inter Milan after one month
Southampton signed Saphir Taider on loan from Inter Milan in August 2014. Yet the Algeria midfielder only spent one month on the south coast before the Saints terminated the deal.
Taider did not feature in any competitive fixtures during his time at St Mary’s, with his only outing a friendly with Bayer Leverkusen. The 46-cap international instead spent 2014/15 at Sassuolo, before spells at Bologna and Montreal as well as Saudi second-tier side Al-Ain.
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