Should Southampton join £15m race for Patrick Roberts?

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Southampton need to enjoy a fantastic summer after going dangerously close to dropping out of the Premier League this past season.

After a season which saw Southampton come desperately close to being relegated from the top flight, the Saints fans will be expecting the kind of summer that sees plenty of marquee names landed and puts the squad in a position that ensures that they are nowhere near the position they found themselves in this past campaign.

A win on the penultimate day of the season virtually guaranteed survival for Mark Hughes’ men, and after several top-half finishes and a cup final, the 17th place position has to be looked upon as a wake-up call.

Statements need to be made in the transfer market, and Southampton should start by joining the race to land Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts one year after the club hoped to sign him on loan.

The Sun reported in July 2017 that the south coast side were keen on a temporary deal after Roberts enjoyed a stunning loan spell in the Scottish Premiership with Celtic. Ultimately however, the 21-year-old would return to Parkhead for another year.

But with the Daily Express recently reporting that the likes of Leicester and West Ham are preparing £15 million bids for the former Fulham starlet, Southampton would arguably be making a huge blunder if they did not get involved in the chase as Roberts could be a superb signing.

The winger is the kind of player that loves to get onto the ball and use his trickery to create opportunities and excite the supporters in equal measure. With a striker as ruthless as Charlie Austin in the side, a potential partnership between the pair could be lethal.

Roberts will earn England caps in the future and it seems more than likely that any side that pays £15 million for him will be able to reflect on a major bargain in the coming years.

And given how well the Saints have done at giving young players the platform to take their game to the next level – especially when those players have been seen most recently at Celtic – signing Roberts has the potential to be a superb deal and Hughes should now be asking the club to join the hunt for his signature.