According to The Guardian, the valuation of Southampton target Mohamed Simakan is believed to be €25m (£21.3m) – Crystal Palace and Watford are also interested in the player.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the report leaves a lot to be desired other than merely stating that Southampton are interested, as well as revealing how much Strasbourg value Simakan at.
The 19-year-old is currently enjoying his first campaign in senior football, making 19 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 side this season with five of those coming in the Europa League – to be playing European football at his age must be great for the teenager’s development.
As aforesaid, Crystal Palace are also interested in the Strasbourg No.2, although Roy Hodgson’s side are believed to be under the impression that the €25m (£21.3m) valuation of Simakan is too high at this stage of his career.
Southampton need someone more experienced than Simakan
While Simakan seems like a highly-rated prospect given the lofty valuation his club have slapped on him, Southampton could definitely do with someone more experienced at centre-back.
Currently, Ralph Hasenhuttl has Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek as his two starting centre-backs, although the Englishman and the Pole are 25 and 23-years-old respectively, which is quite young for a central defender while they are also quite inexperienced in top-flight football – Stephens had loan spells at Swindon, Middlesbrough and Coventry before breaking into the first-team, while Bednarek was on loan at Górnik Łęczna, a Polish third division side, before joining the Saints.
The only experienced centre-back amongst the pack is 31-year-old Maya Yoshida, who has only played five minutes of Premier League football since the embarrassing 9-0 defeat to Leicester at the end of October.
How much do you remember about football in 2019? Our quiz will test your knowledge…
With that in mind, Hasenhuttl should definitely be targeting someone more experienced to marshal his backline, rather than splashing out a significant amount of cash on a 19-year-old centre-back with only a handful of senior games under his belt.
In other news, this Southampton prospect could be Nathan Redmond’s long-term successor instead of Ryan Bertrand’s…
