With the departure of Graziano Pelle last summer, Southampton lost and didn’t replace their key target man. And it has been fairly argued that this gap in the squad had a telling effect on the team’s overall goal tally last season.
Last August Southampton were linked with Utrecht striker Sebastian Haller, but the interest came to nothing. Although Claude Puel was reported to be a big fan of the young Frenchman, Haller opted to stay in the Netherlands for another year.
And after another successful haul of 16 goals in all competitions, Haller has just completed a £7.1m move to Eintracht Frankfurt.
So who should Southampton look to if they want to replace the seemingly vital role formerly held by Pelle? Here are four possible options from around Europe.