Southampton go in chase of Nigeria-eligible defender

The Saints have lost one of their prized assets in defence, and they are looking to shore up things at the back by going for the Manchester City Academy product.

Southampton are looking to sign Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo. Reports from Saints marching as per The Express indicate that with less than two weeks left in the transfer window, Southampton hope that their Premier League status could serve as bait to land their target.

Southampton sold Jannik Vestergaard to Leicester City last week. It put Ralph Hasenhuttl in a situation where he had to field an untested centre-back pair of Mohammed Salisu and Jack Stephens in their Premier League opener against Everton.

However, the Saints weren’t lucky as the Toffees capitalised on their weak defence, coming back from a goal down to win 3-1.

Following the result, Southampton are hoping to land Adarabioyo to solve their defensive issues. The 23-year-old came through City Academy but couldn’t break into the Manchester City fold, which meant that he had to go on different loan spells at Blackburn Rovers and West Brom.

The defender then decided to end his association with the Citizens permanently to sign for Fulham last season.

Adarabioyo was born in Manchester to Nigerian parents. He has represented England at the youth level, but according to FIFA rules, he can still feature for Nigeria.