Saints to strengthen squad with Serie A duo.
Southampton are lining up offers for two Serie A stars – Belgian winger Radja Nainggolan and Italian defender Davide Astori, both of Cagliari.
The Daily Mail claim that Saints chairman Nicola Cortese has identified these players as ideal targets for the club next season, as they look to push on after a strong first season back in the top flight.
The South coast club won promotion to the Premier League last season and initially looked like going straight back down. However, their fortunes have changed significantly since replacing manager Nigel Adkins with Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine has got the Saints playing a stylish passing game, which could be useful to boost the club’s reputation in transfer pursuits such as these.
Nainggolan is a skillful winger, who would provide ammunition to the likes of top-scorer Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez. Although he has a relatively modest contribution of 2 goals and 2 assists in Serie A this season, he has helped the club to a decent position of 10th in the table. He would command a fee of around £15million, and Manchester City are reportedly interested in him as well.
Astori is an Italian international and would provide some much-needed solidity and experience to the Saints’ backline.