Russell Martin is going about his business this summer as Southampton manager attempting to construct the best possible team he can to help his side stay put in the Premier League, hoping to go against the grain of newly promoted sides choking under the severe pressure of the top-flight.
All three sides that were promoted last campaign instantly fell back down to the Championship, with the Saints boss attempting to blend new quality in through the door with reliable heads he knows already from his successful time to date in the St. Mary's dug-out.
The latter bracket saw Flynn Downes return on a permanent basis, after starring out on loan with the South Coast outfit from West Ham United, and the Southampton manager also wants Ryan Fraser to return for good after he also played his part in the club's promotion success story.
That move could be trickier to pull off, with a new left wing target now on the mind of the 38-year-old boss as a result.
Southampton interested in move for Serie A attacker
As per a report by Football Insider, the newly promoted side have registered their interest in trying to tempt Sassuolo winger Armande Lauriente to the South Coast this summer.
The now Serie B club are resigned to losing their star Frenchman owing to relegation, according to the report, with the likes of Italian top-flight outfit Lazio also reportedly keen on the agile 25-year-old away from Southampton just watching on.
The Sassuolo number 45 will, no doubt, be weighing up his options as we speak, therefore, with the potential for him to dazzle Premier League defences if he chooses the Saints as his new destination.
What Lauriente can offer Southampton
Lauriente joining would make the situation surrounding Fraser not yet returning to the South Coast easier to swallow too from Martin and Co's perspective, with the exciting attacker in question even possessing shades of Marcus Rashford's game, according to FBref.
Scoring sublime strikes like this free-kick above on a regular basis for his current employers, Lauriente could catch Premier League defences off-guard with his trickery, if he does sign on the dotted line to relocate to England shortly.
Last campaign, even whilst the collective team struggled in the midst of a relegation battle, the in-demand 25-year-old would amass five goals and six assists from 37 league clashes. In total, Lauriente's goal and assist haul playing in Serie A comes in at an impressive 24 goal contributions from 68 appearances.
Stat – per 90 mins
Lauriente
Rashford
Games played
37
33
Goals scored
5
7
Assists
6
2
Shots on target
0.93
0.75
Attempted passes
28.1
29.4
Pass completion %
69.2%
75.3%
Shot-creating actions
3.40
3.45
Progressive carries
3.87
3.77
Progressive passes
3.07
2.58
Progressive passes received
8.30
7.30
Southampton could even win their very own Rashford if a move gets off the ground this transfer window, with their respective numbers very similar in certain areas of their attacking game, with Lauriente even bettering his Manchester United counterpart when it comes to progressive carries venturing forward last season.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent's goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
The Frenchman also betters Fraser's numbers in certain areas too, when you cast an eye over the current Magpies winger's last top-flight season, with the ageing attacker only managing 2.30 shot creation actions per 90 minutes, alongside other illuminating statistics, when placed up against Lauriente and Rashford.
Lauriente will hope he can arrive into the Premier League and become an established performer at the level like the Red Devils man over time, therefore, who now has 402 first-team appearances for Erik Ten Hag's men in his back pocket.
He will further pray that he can help his new employers stave off the drop if he does sign, so he can avoid another relegation staining his CV, like his recent woes with Sassuolo.
As data analyst Ben Mattinson noted, "in the right system he’d explode", with the hope being that Martin can provide the outlet for Lauriente to dazzle at St Mary's.
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