Having survived relegation last season, Southampton are desperate to add firepower to their team and are monitoring Mainz 05 striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Saints have tabled a concrete offer to lure the blossoming goal scorer to St. Mary’s this summer, according to a report by Sport Witness.
However, Southampton are facing competition from Newcastle United, who are also keeping an eye on him.
The German Bundesliga outfit are expected to ask for a transfer fee of €35million to €40million to let him leave the club.
Mateta moved to the Opel Arena last summer for around €10million.
Mateta emerged through the youth ranks of Drancy and Chateauroux, and made it to the senior team of the latter.
In 2016, he moved to Lyon but couldn’t cement his place in their senior team. He was subsequently sent on loan to Le Havre before finalising a permanent move to Mainz last summer as the most expensive signing of the club.
Mateta took very little time to settle there, and surfaced as one of the hottest properties in the game. He plundered 14 goals and 2 assists in 34 German Bundesliga outings, so it’s understandable that his stocks are high right now.
As a 21-year-old, he has shown qualities of a prolific poacher and certainly has a bright future ahead of him. He has also represented France’s Under-19 and Under-21 sides.
Southampton’s strikers struggled to find the back of the net consistently last season. Due to the lack of goals, the midfielders had extra pressure on them to get on the scoresheet.
They do need reinforcements and a clever striker like Mateta could meet their needs.
Mateta is good in the air, knows exactly where the goal is and his understanding of the game belies his age.
However, he is not a finished article by any stretch of the imagination, and don’t expect him to set the Premier League on fire immediately.
Mateta will need to get used to the pace of the game, so the sooner Southampton sign him, the better, as he needs a good pre-season under Ralph Hasenhuttl to be best equipped for next season.
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