Southampton: Saints linked with move for Tobias Pachonik

One source is reporting that Southampton are among the admirers of the German right-back, who is available for free this summer.

The exclusive report is being ran by Turkish Football, and at this point in time it remains unclear how reliable the rumour is – what works in their favour is that Mario Lemina’s initial link to the Saints came through a much smaller media outlet before being jumped on by the big boys.

With it looking unlikely at this point that Southampton will not extend the contract of back-up right-back Jeremy Pied, the deal does make sense for all parties – Pachonik would get to step up to a tougher division whilst the Saints would fill an open roster spot without having to spend a penny on transfer fees.

The 23-year-old has spent the last season playing in the Serie B with Carpi, after joining the Italians on a free transfer from Schalke in 2017.

What’s more the former Germany Under-20 international is a versatile player, capable of playing in the middle of defence or even further up the right-hand side. This would work well under Mark Hughes, assuming that he plays the same 5-4-1 as he has before.

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However if the report is to be believed, then the Saints will face stiff competition for the German’s signature, with Aston Villa, Fiorentina and Frankfurt all keen on signing him for free.

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All these other teams may be able to offer Pachonik more than Southampton can however – with Villa he’ll almost certainly get more first team football, whilst the prospect of joining his native league or the top flight of the country he currently plays in may be the more mouth-watering two offers.

However the deal would still make sense for the Saints if they’re able to get it across the line – the youngster played 36 of 42 league games this past season for Carpi and registered three assists along the way.

Much like Jan Bednarek, there’s the possibility that the young German could get up to speed with the Under-23’s whilst also coming into the side when needed.

The Polish defender – who joined for £6 million last summer – was a hit in the latter portion of the campaign meaning the Saints may be keen for another cheap and obscure European transfer. Only time will tell however.