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Southampton have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Juventus forward Simone Zaza after claims the Serie A champions are looking to bring in a replacement. The Italy international has been linked with a move to England in the past eight months despite only signing for Juventus last summer.

TMW have today claimed Lazio forward Keita Balde Diao is being seen as a possible replacement for Zaza. Keita could exit Lazio before the transfer deadline because of disciplinary reasons, and Juventus could look to take advantage of the situation.

This would then allow the Serie A club to sell Zaza, with Southampton and Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in concrete positions to land the striker. Southampton sold Graziano Pellè earlier in the transfer window, and Zaza could fill the void left by his international teammate.

Zaza joined Juventus just over 12 months ago from Sassuolo, but the player struggled to get games in last season due to the competition for places.

Zaza again had to watch from the sidelines during Juventus’ first Serie A game of season at the weekend, and he may need to find a new club to get more playing opportunities.

At the weekend, the Italian international’s father claimed serious interest from Tottenham and West Ham in Zaza, but it’s hard to believe there’s half as much interest as claimed, given he’s still at Juventus.