With survival in the bag, Southampton are planning to step up their efforts to sign Birmingham City striker Che Adams in a deal which could rise to £15million, according to the Daily Mail.
During the winter market, Mario Husillos was thought to be plotting a move of his own for the Blue’s hitman, with reports surfacing with a £10m price tag.
The Leicester-born forward was likely being considered as the replacement to Javier Hernandez, as the claims of our interest grew at the same time as those believing the Mexican expected to leave East London.
Our Director of Football was not the only transfer guru keen on the Blues’ forward, though, as Southampton and Burnley both made enquiries into the 22-year-old’s availability in January, only to be told he was not for sale.
Garry Monk’s outfit knew they could not part ways with their talismanic attacker at the time, as they would not be able to replace his input due to an EFL imposed transfer ban. Add to that the points deduction they knew was coming their way, and Adams was seen as their best shot at retaining a Championship position for another year.
In the end, the St Andrew’s natives managed to retain a second-tier berth for another year with games to spare, with Adams contributing to 34% of their goals – the second highest involvement rate in the Championship this term.
The Saints are now thought to be willing to return to their previous interest, as manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is plotting an overhaul of the south coast native’s attack, which will see Charlie Austin leave the one-time FA Cup winners after three-and-a-half years.
If Husillos is likewise considering Birmingham’s 22-goal wonder as part of his attacking overhaul, with Javier Hernandez still a potential player on the move alongside Lucas Perez and Andy Carroll, he will also face competition from Burnley and the recently-promoted Norwich.
The Canaries are mentioned in passing during the Daily Mail’s report of Southampton’s growing attention to Adams’ situation, so how strong their position is remains to be seen.
