da bet7： According to Sky Sports, Southampton are in talks to sign Atletico Madrid striker Luciano Vietto as they look to strengthen their attacking options, but they could face competition from Serie A outfit Sampdoria.
What’s the word, then?
da jogodeouro： Well, Saints striker Jay Rodriguez joined West Bromwich Albion earlier this month and according to Sky Sports, the south coast outfit look to be targeting Vietto as his replacement.
The 23-year-old has struggled to make an impression with the La Liga giants following a big-money move from Villarreal in 2015 – scoring three goals in 28 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side – and he spent last season on loan with Sevilla.
The Argentine forward is well known to new Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino, who came up against the attacker as Alaves boss last term, and he is keen to bring his national compatriot to the Premier League.
How did Vietto do last season?
He impressed during his loan spell with Sevilla, but he found first team football hard to come by towards the end of the campaign, playing just one of their final nine La Liga games.
The 23-year-old scored 10 goals and provided a further five assists in 31 appearances in all competitions, and he spent the majority of the season playing as a centre-forward for the La Liga outfit.
Would he be a good signing for Southampton?
He certainly could be and the club will be particularly impressed with his spell with Villarreal in the 2014/15 campaign, when he scored 20 goals in 48 outings.
Saints generally seem to have a knack of finding gems from abroad and not many would have expected Manolo Gabbiadini to have the instant impact that he did when he joined from Napoli during the January transfer window.
Vietto is another player where perhaps things haven’t worked out for him at a big club, and the south coast outfit can give him a chance to reignite his career with regular football at St Mary’s.
There may be some concerns from supporters that he could be too similar to Sofiane Boufal in style though, while others feel the team lacked height and strength last term – Vietto is 5’8” tall.
What’s the verdict, then?
Well, Southampton have proven time and time again that they know what they’re doing in the transfer market and if the rumours on Vietto are true, they may be about to bag themselves another great player in the making.
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