Football journalist Dan Sheldon has predicted that while Southampton won’t spend big this January under new ownership, they could look to make ‘another kind of’ Tino Livramento transfer.
The big news for the south coast club is that they have recently been bought by Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak. The cable television tycoon completed a £100m deal, taking the majority share from Gao Jisheng.
With a new investor at the club, there may be hope for some big spending at Southampton in the winter window. However, while discussing the situation on the Total Saints podcast, Sheldon said that he doesn’t believe the club will do anything crazy, though he could see them making some clever moves for lesser-known talents.
He used the example of Livramento, who was signed from Chelsea in the summer for £5m and has since gone on to become a regular player in the club’s senior team.
Do Southampton need to sign a new defender this January?
Yes
No
The journalist explained his thoughts, saying: “I mean, I don’t expect them to kind of be going out there to make a play for [Kylian] Mbappe or anything like that.
“But if there was a chance to do another kind of Tino deal, I wouldn’t be surprised if they look to kind of exploit that.”
TIF Thoughts on Southampton and their transfer plans…
As made clear by Sheldon’s comments, it does not look as though Southampton are quite going to try and follow in the footsteps of Newcastle United and set out ambitious transfer plans under their new owners.
However, if the club were to find the next Livramento, it could be a very shrewd piece of business. After all, even though he is still only a teenager, the former Chelsea man looks set to be a star in the Premier League for years to come.
Unfortunately, the young full-back has been out recently due to a meniscus injury. With his fitness status uncertain, perhaps the club will quite literally go out and look for another right-back like Livramento in the current transfer market.
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