Mauricio Pellegrino seems to have been determined this month to add an Argentine attacker to his Southampton squad.
There were links with Luciano Vietto before he made the move to Valencia on loan, and Nico Gaitan continues to pop up in Saints stories as the window nears its end.
It looks like he’s found his man in Guido Carrillo, a 26 year old was has largely failed to impress since he moved to AS Monaco from Estudiantes.
The French slant on all of this seems to be that Monaco will be getting a very good deal, with Southampton said to be paying around €22m for the 26 year old.
Carrillo’s Southampton move will be formalised ‘in the coming hours’ according to French newspaper, and Monaco will then go out and try to sign someone better.
Arriving in 2015 for €9m, Carrillo is considered among Monaco’s ‘flops of the market’ and that he’s ‘often injured’ has been a barrier to overcoming competition.
Whilst Carrillo is praised for being good with his head and determined, it’s stated he ‘will not have met expectations’.
First choice is Islam Slimani but Monaco want a loan and Leicester want €20m.
If it’s true Leicester want €20m, and if they’d sell to an English club, then perhaps there’s a an obvious better alternative for Southampton here. Used mainly in the Carabao Cup, Slimani has 3 appearances in that competition and has scored 4 goals.
He’s only played 90 minutes once in the Premier League this season, and scored a goal in that match.
We’re just a little concerned with the French reaction to this deal, and the perception Monaco are doing great out of it. The French principality club did reject an earlier offer of €15m from Southampton, but perhaps that’s because they had confidence the Saints would return.
