Southampton's hunt for a brand-new striker signing continues on.
Ideally, the Saints would have kept Ross Stewart on their books past this summer, after he stood out as the perfect impact striker they needed last season with a lethal nine goals from 12 Championship starts.
Unfortunately, he decided a change of scenery is what he wanted, after an extended South Coast contract couldn't be agreed, with the Irvine-born striker now officially a Swansea City player.
There have been some suggestions as to who Southampton are looking to bring in to fill that Stewart shaped void, with Ivan Azon - who played at Ipswich Town last season as Championship promotion was won - looking to be their chosen man at one stage this summer.
Rumours linking Azon with a St. Mary's switch has now gone strangely cold, however, and it appears that Daniel Jebbison, who was also in the Championship on loan last campaign with Preston North End, is now on their shopping list.
Jebbison isn't the only name that has the caught the eye, however, as the Saints' pursuit for a fresh marksman drags on...
The transfer rumours keep coming
As per Sky Sports Germany, Southampton is looking to the 2. Bundesliga for possible attacking recruits.
To be more precise, they're keen on the services of Karlsruher SC striker Louey Ben Farhat, but they are far from alone in their interest.
Indeed, they are deep in a five club race for the promising 20-year-old, as Eintracht Frankfurt, AFC Bournemouth, RB Salzburg and Lille are all listed as eager suitors, alongside Tonda Eckert's side.
Strangely, the Cherries could be looking at Ben Farhat, knowing that Jebbison is potentially on the move this summer, as another transfer target of the Saints.
If it came down to a straight toss-up between the Tunisian, and his Canadian counterpart, Southampton could be better placed going after the Karlsruher youngster, despite his complete lack of knowledge of the Championship.
He could be a better buy than Jebbison
If Jebbison were to arrive, he might well expect first team football to immediately come his way, having featured 40 times in the Championship last season for Preston.
Southampton wouldn't be able to hand him consistent minutes, as it's likely he would have to play second fiddle with Larin, and swap in and out of the first team picture, like Stewart did so effortlessly.
With only six second tier goals scored last season, too, for Paul Heckingbottom's midtable outfit, it doesn't stand out as the best use of cash to get over the Scotsman's gutting exit.
Instead, investing in Ben Farhat could be the better path to go down, as he has regularly shone in the German second division with his current employers as an off-the-bench gem.
Last campaign, from only 17 2. Bundesliga starts, he managed to grab the same amount of goals as Jebbison in Lancashire, with the 2024/25 season also seeing him score a deadly three strikes, from just five league starts.
Safe to say, he has a red-hot streak in him like the departed Stewart, and if he has such widespread interest in his services from some major European clubs, even more is clearly expected from Ben Farhat in time.
Eckert loves getting more out of raw and hungry youngsters, as well, meaning the wide-eyed Tunisian ticks a whole load of boxes.
Jebbison might be the more household name out of the two targets, but the Saints have struck gold shopping in the German market in recent times, with both Daniel Peretz and Caspar Jander.
Of course, Ben Farhat is even more of a gamble, considering his lack of gametime at the BBBank Wildpark, but the 5-foot-9 menace has been branded as a starlet with "carefreeness" built into his game - as per Karlsruher sporting director Mario Eggimann - so he should hopefully thrive in the Championship if an eye-catching move were to be agreed.
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