da bwin： According to a report by Italian media outlet Football Italia, Southampton have joined two of their Premier League rivals in the race to sign Lazio attacker Felipe Anderson, who was a £170,000-a-week target for Manchester United in 2016.
What’s the word, then?
da brwin： Well, Football Italia report that Saints are ready to battle West Ham United and Leicester City to bring the 25-year-old winger to England, with the Brazilian on the market for the right price after the Serie A giants missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the 2017/18 season.
Football Italia says that the south coast are ready to launch an offer for Anderson, who Man United were reportedly willing to hand a £170,000-a-week contract two-and-a-half years ago, according to the Daily Star in January 2016.
Southampton certainly face a huge battle to bring the wideman to St Mary’s, given Lazio are said to value the player at around €50m (£43m) – more than double the club-record fee they paid for Guido Carrillo in January.
How did Anderson do during the 2017/18 campaign?
He was impressive.
The 25-year-old scored eight goals and provided a further 10 assists in 32 appearances in all competitions for Lazio, and showed the skill, dribbling ability and general quality he can bring from wide areas.
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Will Southampton sign him?
In a word, no.
If Lazio are ready to demand more than £40m then it is surely a no-go for Saints given that they are yet to spend more than £20m on a player in their history.
If that price tag were to move down to £30m or under then it would certainly be a little more likely, but as things stand the south coast outfit and manager Mark Hughes will surely forget the Brazilian and turn their attentions elsewhere.