Southampton join Lille in race to sign Barcelona striker in Jan

Southampton have struggled for goals so far this term, but that issue could well be fixed as early as January. That’s following reports that boss Mauricio Pellegrino is lining up a deal for Barcelona striker Paco Alcacer.

Lille have also shown interest in the 24-year-old, who joined Blaugrana from boyhood club Valencia in summer 2016.

The forward impressed during his time with Los Che, hitting double figures in La Liga in successive seasons, with 15 goals in all competitions during the 2015-16 campaign.

However, the Torrent native has unsurprisingly struggled for gametime at the Nou Camp, with a wealth of talent on Barca’s books.

It’s believed the player is happy to leave for first-team football in January. That’s put Southampton on high alert, but they’ll face competition from Ligue 1 side Lille.

The French club have been strongly linked with Alcacer over the past week. However, with another disappointing season looking likely for Les Dogues, a move to the South Coast would surely appeal more to the Spain international.

Transfermarkt.co.uk estimate the player’s market value at £18m. He won’t come particularly cheap, but if he could repeat the feat of netting double figures in a Prem season for the Saints, that would represent an excellent piece of business.

For now, the current Southampton side will be focused on Saturday’s meeting with West Bromwich Albion. It’s 4/5 for the hosts to take maximum points at St Mary’s.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing