The rumour mill is turning again as we head into the final fortnight before the contract bonus's are paid and the transfer window can open in earnest and it seems Southampton have their eye on the German Champions for the next addition.
Saints are said to be prioritising a central defender in this transfer window and they have their eyes on Bayern Munich's Chris Richards, as you can imagine by the name, Richards isn't German, he is American and he has been with the German giants since 2019 when he joined Bayern's youth set up.
Since then he has struggled for game time in their Bundesliga squad, in the season just gone he made just a fleeting appearance off the bench before heading to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on loan, there he played the majority of games in the starting line up, but firstly a foot injury and then a hamstring meant that he was restricted to just 3 appearances in the final 14 games of the season.
In 2020/21 he had also spent time with Hoffenheim in the second half of the season.
At 22 the 6ft 2 Central defender is at a crossroads in his career, can he realistically break into the Bayern Munich side or does he need to move to get first team football having proved himself at Bundesliga level and also with the USA national team where he has been capped 8 times.
It seems that he is keen for pastures anew and Saints along with Crystal Palace are said to be interested in his signature.
He can play either side of not only the centre of defence but also as a full back and from that perspective he can slot into a back three with ease.
From the style of play he very much suits the way that Ralph Hasenhuttl wants to set out his sides, both in a flat back four or with a trio in the centre with wing backs, but the issue again as has been the case over the past few years is his lack of experience, with barely 35 Bundesliga appearances to his name, he is not the wise old head that Saints need in the back line at the moment.
He could arrive at St Mary's either on loan if Bayern feel that he could break through into their side with a little more experience or on a permanent move, if it was a permanent deal then his vale is said to be about £7.5 million, but his stock has increased after his loan spell at Hoffenheim and that could push up the price a bit.