Following the £9 million signing of Lewis Dobbin, Southampton now just need to bring in a striker.
With the transfer policy this summer, which adopted only signing after players leave, Tonda Eckert’s side can now focus on their talisman.
The Saints lost Scotsman Ross Stewart on a free transfer on June 30, despite their best efforts otherwise, making their endeavours more difficult.
Now their biggest job comes in replacing Stewart with a younger, less injury-prone option.
Southampton enter striker talks
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on X, Southampton have opened talks to sign Ivan Azon from Como, after the 23-year-old spent last season on loan at Ipswich Town.
The Saints have made an initial approach for the Spaniard, with discussions ongoing at a €9/10m fee (£7.5m-8.5m).
Azon scored just five Championship goals in 20 starts from an xG of 11.46, highlighting his goalscoring troubles. But eyebrows were raised when Southampton signed Cyle Larin in January, off the back of a goalless first half of the season with Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
Ultimately, the Canadian striker proved his doubters wrong and never looked back after debut goals in both the Championship and the FA Cup. But this one is different.
Larin had never had experience in English football, where he ended up thriving. Ivan Azon, on the other hand, has - and never really made his mark despite Ipswich Town’s promotion from the second tier.
A questionable signing
Ivan Azon stands at 6’0” tall and is certainly a handful.
In many ways, the striker can be likened to former Southampton forward Che Adams, as well as current striker Cyle Larin, in the way they play football.
All three strikers are difficult to defend against and direct, but Azon has shown up until now in his career that he is not the perfect goalscorer. For Southampton, this has the potential to be a good signing if Tonda Eckert can help develop the 23-year-old into a better finisher.
Kieran McKenna was unable to do so as Ipswich Town manager last season, but Eckert has shown how good a coach he is and is clearly influential at the training ground, Staplewood.
This might not be the signing Southampton fans will want - but it wouldn’t be a disaster for Saints if they do sign Ivan Azon.
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