In a rumour that broke late yesterday evening, Southampton could be looking to bolster their attack with Monaco’s Stevan Jovetic.
According to one report, the Saints are looking for attacking reinforcements and see the 28-year-old forward as a way to improve their lackluster goal tally.
Familiar to many Southampton supporters through his three-year spell at Manchester City, Jovetic has been somewhat of a journeyman of late, having also played for Sevilla and Inter Milan in the last two years before his move to France.
Despite the departure of Kylian Mbappe, Jovetic has struggled to nail down a first-team spot and has naturally been linked with potential moves away from Monaco. He’s featured in just four league games this term and has scored once.
The report doesn’t state how much the Saints would have to be pay to sign the Montenegro international, although it would wise to estimate that it’d be within the region of the £15 million that Inter paid for him last year.
Southampton have scored just nine times in 11 league games this season but it’s arguable that the work of Mauricio Pellegrino’s forwards is NOT the main reason for the lack of goals.
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Poor, inconsistent form from the Saints’ attacking-midfielders and wingers have arguably been the main cause, with Manolo Gabbiadini remaining isolated and being forced to feed off scraps.
Stevan Jovetic is remarkably similar striker to that of the Italian, possessing an all-rounded game as well as having the ability to make smart runs to make up for a lack of serious natural pace.
If the Saints were to target an striker it’d seem more likely that they would look to sign a target man – a Rickie Lambert or Graziano Pelle – to offer a different dimension up front and provide an option for route one football.
However, with Charlie Austin’s future in doubt and Shane Long having failed to score in 28 games, fresh reinforcement up front would probably be welcomed by Southampton fans.