Southampton shows interest in signing FC Koln's striker Damion Downs, as an alternative to Ioannidis's hefty deal.
Like it or not, but the next Championship season comes with bigger financial problems than sporting ones for Southampton. Well, at least the club's transfer window has sent this message clear to the fans.
With a single signing made so far, the Saints have hesitated for big fee transfers, while feeling helpless to cut wage bills. And if the pattern wasn't already evident in their defence department, it's now propagating to the attack line too.
In case you remember, Southampton had reignited interest in Panathinaikos forward Ioannidis days ago. But, the Saints are tipped to miss out on his signing once again.
Saints redirect transfer search for star who recently helped promotion
That's why, recently, Southampton have turned all their attacking interest to a low-budget, effective striker having similar scoring abilities to Ioannidis. It's 20-year-old rising forward, Damion Downs.
Having led the line in a promotion-winning campaign at FC Koln, the prodigy finished last season with 11 goals to his name. Additionally, coming on the back of a league-winning title, Southampton see the youngster as an inspiring addition to their promotion push.
As per journalist Florian Plettenberg(via Get Football News Germany), Southampton are more than happy to shell out a transfer fee close to his market value of €5m for Downs.
Honestly, be it his numbers or his talent at just 20 years old, Downs will naturally excite the Saints fans. But, their interest must amplify in the centre-forward, knowing his recent US debut.
Interestingly, like their fullback target Alex Freeman, Downs too recently debuted for the national side under ex-Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino. Now, though he ended up on the losing side, Downs turned heads with his short yet effective 15-minute spell.
Well, as things stand, Freeman's case stands far from serious contention at Southampton. Hopefully, his teammate Downs will join the Saints to complete consecutive promotions next year.