According to major media sources Saints have had a big bid accepted for one of their January transfer targets.

According to many major media outlets including Sky Sports Saints have come to agreement with Monaco for the transfer of striker Guido Carrillo with the two clubs agreeing a fee of 22 million euros which equating to around £19.5 million would eclipse the club record transfer fee paid to Juventus for Mario Lemina last summer.

Carrillo who at 6ft 2 is described as a striker in the mould of Pelle, in that he is not only able to score goals but also bring others into play with deft touches and flicks and that is something that Saints have missed in the past 18 months.

That seems to be the first piece in the jigsaw puzzle with the second being a pacy attacking wide player with Quincy Promes high on Saints list.

The worrying thing though is Saints are not being linked with many central defenders at present and in my opinion this is as much a problem area as our lack of goals.

Saints seem readly and willing to spend a fair chunk of the incoming cash from Virgil Van Dijk although if they bring in two or three in the next week it will leave us with a big squad and one that would need to be trimmed in the summer, if only to provide not only places in the squad but money for those transfers.

Photo: Action Images

legod7 added 17:37 - Jan 24 dirk, how can you translate from French into English when you use the word “ incroyable “ which isn’t ev an English word.
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Bettwsresident added 17:43 - Jan 24 We played PEH as a centre-forward against Tottenham, gave the team much better shape and I am sure Carillo would have slotted that chance on 8 mins or so. I have previously said he was a donkey...but hope I am wrong, anyone who can score from crosses is precious for saints...with Bertrand and Ward prose, we do create the opportunities.
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underweststand added 17:58 - Jan 24 Of course we're still waiting for the ink to be dry on the contract, but let's hope he's a better deal than... the last Saints player who was signed by an Argentine manager. Thinking back, that was when Mauricio Pochettino signed his former player whose name was... .Dani Osvaldo (!)
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pintsizedsaint added 18:00 - Jan 24 With the absolute greatest of respect to all football fans, I would take what any fan says about a departing player with a pinch of salt. To most of us, it's a black and white issue that is occasionally tainted with some 'biased' opinion... Look - he's not Kane and he's not Aguero - but we are not going to be able to afford and attract a prolific goal scorer that's tried and tested in the EPL or similar. What Carrillo offers is a positive gamble in securing a player that is good in the air, has technical ability and can bring the midfield into the attack. And i trust our recruitment fellas too. They haven't got too much wrong in the past 5 years or so - bearing in mind any transfer is a gamble (even the top ones)

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lemmsy added 18:17 - Jan 24 Only time will tell how good a signing Carrillo is but this site does make me wonder if some posts r by saints supporters or just people who’ve had a shit day
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zebulon123 added 19:38 - Jan 24 If Pellegrino wants him I doubt he will add any value to the team. We need a new manager. Bring back Koeman. //Zeb
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the_saint added 19:39 - Jan 24 His average would be 9 goals a season more than Gabbi and long put together a good percentage of his goals have been with his head. Likes putting himself about and mixing it with opposing centre backs so should fit well in the prem. I think good buy but not the marquee signing we are waiting for now pommes might be
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CautiousOptimist added 20:33 - Jan 24 We wanted a striker, and we’ve got one. What’s not to like? I only know what I’ve read about him and seen on YouTube, but I’m happy to give him a few games and see what he looks like. From my reading of the Monaco fan board (and my French is admittedly pretty grim) it looks like they aren’t too sad to see the back of him, and think they’ve done well on the price. The criticism of him seems to be that he is a bit one dimensional. Solid but not spectacular. Well, at this stage in the season, flirting with relegation and having a problem converting chances (but not creating them) I think there’s a strong case for saying that a solid, unspectacular bloke who knows where the goal is precisely what we need. With Gabbiadini as an alternative (or, heaven forbid, alongside) we’ll have more of a tactical range too. Here’s hoping anyway. Welcome to Southampton Guido.

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redandwhitedee added 21:29 - Jan 24 Very happy with our defenders. We don’t need any more.
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brownk added 21:52 - Jan 24 Stats not that good don't think so: The Southampton target may have only found the back of the net on four occasions this season, but despite this he still ranks as one of Ligue 1’s most deadly forwards. Not only do 31% of his shots find the back of the net, but since the start of the 2016/17 season, only Cavani, Lacazette and Neymar have recorded a better minutes per goal return than Carrillo in Ligue 1 (91.11).

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mattthelegend added 22:13 - Jan 24 I can’t believe the amount of negativity before the man has even signed. PEH bench warmer at Bayern, Bertrand and Romeu benchwarmers at Chelsea and Lemina are we disappointed with them I know I am not. So a bit of faith please before judgement is passed. UTS
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TeamCortese added 22:47 - Jan 24 I think people should put things into perspective. Yes he's not exactly a marquee signing but the positives are he's coming from a top, top club in France that had the likes of Falcao and Mbappe upfront. I don't care who you are it'll be tough get the nod ahead such talented forwards. If he was so bad then Monaco wouldn't have brought him in the first place not to mention use him as an impact sub off the bench. I think we should give him a chance and see how whether he addresses our woes upfront with a run of games. As Pellegrino has worked with him in the past that can only help accelerate his transition to rigours of the EPL. Personally, if I was Les Reed, I would have have convinced Mr Gao to just spend the money on Giroud but I guess we've always had a very strange transfer policy and on the balance of things it's done reasonably well. Hopefully we'll get Promes in as well. Promes would definitely improve our attack but I'm also pretty keen on Adama Traore as a cheaper alternative.

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TygerUppercut added 00:23 - Jan 25 Monaco fans being dismissive - well a team that has talents such as aguero, jovetic, lemar et al Is bound to be Its time saints started playing horses for courses + with this guy theyre doing just that We play a high amount of crosses + its going to suit this striker - I think were about to sign the argentinian mickey evans!
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SanMarco added 00:27 - Jan 25 I am with matthelegend and Cortese - give the guy a chance for goodness sake. Weren't people saying similar things about Pelle? He does look a bit expensive but then we were always going to get a 'theyve just sold VVD' premium on prices this January. The shame is that we are beggars rather than choosers due to our league position.
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dirk_doone added 00:30 - Jan 25 I think you're right, Tyger. Mickey Evans scored 4 goals in his career for Southampton and I really believe Guido Carillo can match that if we keep him long enough, which we'll have to anyway as no other club wants him.
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Fordy added 09:06 - Jan 25 Have read the Monaco message board and the views are mixed. The general view is that he is one dimensional. Charlie Austin is one dimensional but he gets us goals and maybe that is what we need. A good header of the ball. Like TygerUppercut says Monaco fans have been spoilt with the likes of Falcao, Mbappe, Lemar and Rodriguez in recent years. We aren't in the market for players of that quality. Pellegrino knows Carillo better than anyone on here and he knows him better than most of the Monaco fans and dirk_done. He clearly trusts him and thinks he will fit in with our system.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 09:25 - Jan 25 The main thing I keep hearing about Carrillo is that he's very good in the air. This is what we're looking for!! How many crosses do we put in with no-one to aim for and no-one to compete and win it. This guy will batter defenders and give us some aerial threat where we need it. Maybe in home games we'll be 'adventerous' enough to play Gabbi up top with him. Maybe Carrillo is the type of player Gabbi needs to feed off. It might work. Lets be positive and give the guy a chance. My main fear is that he might take some time to adjust but otherwise he fits the profile.

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SaintBrock added 12:00 - Jan 25 This is the problem now for the lesser clubs of the PL, any player brought inthese days will at some time or other have been looked at by the Big Clubs not only here but of all the major European Leagues. In effect they have been rejected by the best and left as scraps for the rest. Not a very appetising prospect for most fans of most clubs to accept that all we can afford or expect to attract are bit-part journeymen with tarnished reputations. Day 25 Nick, by the way?

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ItchenNorth added 13:10 - Jan 25 Surely this should start with Day 24 - something to report
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skiptonsaint added 18:11 - Jan 25 I think we have to view this transfer as to how it might bring other players levels up in the team as well ie Tadic suddenly has something to aim for like he did with Pelle and JWP from set plays Also very handy at the back for defending set plays with his height and Ariel ability. And if we get Promes we'll that's a window ! Question for me is would I risk not getting a centre back now and getting a really good one who is also a leader in the easier market in the summer ? . A clear team leader is still a big one for me. Maybe one of these possible 2 new signings might be a leader I suppose. They would have the confidence and kudos in the dressing room of being our most expensive signings

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