Southampton have now missed out on this transfer target to a Championship rival

Southampton would have been gutted that they couldn't tempt Will Lankshear to St. Mary's earlier this summer.

He stands out as an extremely exciting attacking prospect, a project signing who can only get better with more time, with a standout 11 goals tallied up last season for Oxford United, even as the U's fell to League One.

At the end of the day, though, the Saints failed to put their money where their mouth is for the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster, as Middlesbrough - their familiar Spygate foe - won his services instead for a bumper £20m fee.

In another cruel turn of events, Tonda Eckert's men have now missed out on a fresh transfer target, with one of their Championship rivals laughing at their expense, again.

The next transfer target Southampton have missed out on

It was reported on the 26th of July that both Southampton and West Bromwich Albion had agreed a deal to sign Nolan Galves from Ligue 2 outfit, Rodez.

Collecting seven assists last season in league action for Rodez, as Didier Santini's team narrowly missed out on promotion to Ligue 1 in the intense playoffs, he stood out as a potentially intriguing addition in the right-back spot on the pitch for Eckert and Co.

Unfortunately, as has been revealed today - which is the 28th at the time of writing - the Baggies have confirmed that the 23-year-old will be on their roster this forthcoming season, and not the Saints', as they try and mount their own promotion challenge under club legend James Morrison.

This will be another knock to the ego, for sure, with Lankshear's rejection remaining fresh.

But, at the end of the day, the French defender was more likely to get first team action at the Hawthorns anyway, over moving to the South Coast, with the Saints boasting plenty of numbers in the right-back spot, already.

This won't sting as much as Lankshear

Indeed, Eckert will already have his mind made up as to who his starting right-back is, heading into the new season, and that's James Bree.

He very rarely let the Saints down last season, after once being chucked out on loan to Charlton Athletic, with the 28-year-old the very definition of a steady performer who can keep his cool in the choppy waters of a promotion battle.

With Mads Roerslev also declaring this off-season that he's "ready to go" as another right-back figure for Eckert to consider, after an injury-disrupted first campaign on the South Coast, losing out on Galves won't sting as badly as Lankshear's move falling through, with the full-back position clearly stacked.

He might have offered the Saints something different in this area, as an enticing foreign import, but there's also no guarantee that Galves would've been an instant success, acclimatising from Ligue 2 to what is expected of him in such a challenging new environment.

West Brom will be considered a rival for the Saints to keep an eye on, as they gun for promotion, with ex-Saints youth attacker Jimmy-Jay Morgan already bagging goals galore for the Baggies in pre-season, as another eye-catching bit of summer business.

Eckert will have faith in his own troops to be in and around the promotion spots come next May, however, even as another incoming has fallen to the wayside.

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