Southampton join competition for 18-year-old – Looking to sign striker in January

Premier League side Southampton are reportedly the latest club to join the race for FC Dallas striker Ricardo Pepi.

The story comes from Italy, where outlet Tutto Mercato Web names the Saints as the ‘new competitors’ for the 18-year-old.

The reason the story originated there is because a few Serie A sides, including Bologna, have been interested in taking the youngster from MLS.

Now Southampton are said to be willing to ‘outrun the competition’ and sign Pepi ‘as early as January’, even though there are no details on bids or how much the would player cost.

Despite his young age, Pepi has had a big impact in MLS this season, with 13 goals and two assists in 31 appearances. He’s already been linked to several European sides, with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United both said to be chasing him.

With no information on how much it’d take for Southampton to take him from Dallas, Transfermarkt reckon he’s worth around €8m at this time.