Southampton “closely following” striker with 23 goals already this season

Southampton are one of the clubs keeping a close eye on Basel striker Arthur Cabral after his superb start to this season.

This is according to a report from news outlet UOL, who claim that Cabral’s 23 goals in 24 games this campaign have alerted Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Porto and Fiorentina.

Importantly, the 23-year-old’s age puts him into the ideal age range for Southampton to target given that he has a lot of potential to grow into – meaning that he could become an even better striker in future seasons.

Cabral has taken to Swiss football brilliantly and currently has 61 goals in 99 appearances for Basel after his 2020 arrival from Brazilian side Palmeiras.

Southampton look set for this season but may look for strikers for next year

Given that they have a group of strikers who have all shown good spurts of form in the early part of this 2021/22 campaign, Southampton are unlikely to be looking to add another goalscorer in January.

However, they may be preparing for another recruitment drive in the summer transfer window.

Armando Broja has been a hit with the Saints fans having shown some brilliant potential in his appearances so far but he will return to Chelsea ahead of next season as his season-long loan comes to an end.

A similar profile will surely then be looked at to try and find a suitable replacement and Arthur Cabral could fit this.

A good turn of pace, an ability to provide an aerial threat and generally solid all-round attributes make him similar to Broja and he would be a natural competitor for Che Adams’ role if he were to be signed.

Southampton seemingly have some clear competition from some top European clubs for the Brazilian’s signature but perhaps the financial draw of the Premier League will prove an asset for the Saints in this particular situation.