Southampton will not rival Bournemouth in trying to sign Brentford defender Chris Mepham, according to Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas.
The reporter claimed via his personal Twitter account that the Saints have backed out of the race to sign the Wales international after Sky Sports reported on their live transfer blog [Wednesday, 09:35am] that the Cherries are in talks to sign the centre-back.
Understand #Southampton will NOT rival #Bournemouth for Chris Mepham #Saintsfc #Afcb #Brentfordfc
— Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall) January 16, 2019
The Mirror had previously reported via their live transfer blog [Monday, 09:39am] that Southampton were in the hunt to sign Mepham and his Brentford team-mate Ollie Watkins.
It was understood that the Bees valued both players at £20million.
OPINION
Southampton should really be trying harder to sign Mepham, but this is why the south coast club are in the situation they have been in over the last year and a half – they are not spending enough money. If teams don’t spend money in the Premier League then they will soon find themselves in the Championship. The league is constantly improving and the fact that Bournemouth can beat Southampton in a race to sign a high-valued player says a lot about how the club is being ran. Mepham will be a good addition for the Cherries if they can agree a deal for the Welsh centre-back. He is only 21-years-old and has a big future ahead of him. Eddie Howe does well when signing young players from, which is something that Ralph Hasenhuttl would be doing if he was able to spend some money. What has happened to all the money gained from selling Virgil van Dijk?