Reports linking Southampton with a £10 million swoop for Real Valladolid defender Mohammed Salisu are right on the money, Saints CEO Martin Semmens has admitted to the BBC Radio Solent.
It is no secret that Ralph Hasenhuttl is hoping to reinforce a backline which conceded more goals than all-but five Premier League clubs in 2019/20 – and a highly-rated La Liga stopper appears to be the number one target.
AS reported earlier this month that Salisu has agreed a four-year deal worth £35,000-a-week on the South Coast, with Southampton set to trigger an affordable £10 million release clause in his contract.
The Mail then claimed that the prospect of first-team football had convinced the Ghanaian that St Mary’s was the best place for him to hone his already considerable talents.
And it seems that there is far more to this than mere paper talk.
“This (rumour) probably has a bit more truth to it. It has been very clearly documented, to my surprise, exactly what has been happening,” Semmens admits.
“He is a player we have looked at for a long time, a really high quality young player in Europe who would really add something to our squad. We are in a process and we hope that we are lucky enough to get him.
“We are very aware that some of the biggest and best clubs in Europe have looked for him.
“We offer him something different, which is a pathway to get better, physically and technically playing in the first team in the Premier League.
“We hope that opportunity and the pathway we have shown for other players will attract him here, but we’ll know more soon. He is one we are looking very closely at.”
Salisu has been linked with the likes of Manchester United, Wolves, Real Madrid and Atletico since establishing himself as one of the finest young defensive talents in Europe in recent months.
And, with Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek both highly-rated by Hasenhuttl, the 20-year-old’s impending arrival means that giant Dane Jannik Vestergaard has probably played his final game in those red and white stripes.
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