Southampton will hold talks this week with Sporting Lisbon as they hijack Newcastle United’s move for defender Ruben Semedo, according to a Mirror report.
The newspaper claims the Saints officials are set to conduct negotiations with Sporting over the sale of Semedo in the coming days and they are ready to pay the £12.5million asking price.
This will come as a huge blow to Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, who is an admirer of the Portuguese centre-back and is keen to sign him this summer.
However, Southampton hope fellow countryman Cedric Soares’ presence will hold significance when Semedo decides his summer destination.
The Saints are looking to bolster their defensive options this summer, after losing Jose Fonte to West Ham in January, while Virgil van Dijk looks to be leaving imminently, and is a target for Liverpool and Manchester City.
This comes after the Sun reported Newcastle were ready to make an offer of £15million for Semedo, 23, as they prepare for life in the Premier League.
It was said the Toon have already had one bid turned down for the no-nonsense centre-back, but were still keen on securing his services this summer.
Semedo was a mainstay in Sporting’s back line this term, making 31 appearances in all competitions.
The 23-year-old broke into the senior set up at the club in the summer of 2015, before being promptly loaned out to Vitoria de Setubal for the 2015/16 campaign in order to gain more first team experience.
He was capped eight times by Portugal Under-21s, scoring three goals, one of which came in a 3-1 friendly win over Norway in March of this year.