Saints are being linked with a move for Torino's U21 midfielder Marco Benassi who could be a decent low cost addition to the squad.

Benassi fits the model of a Ronald Koeman signing in that although he can play in defence it has been in midfield he has been earning the plaudits for his Torino performances.

In 25 Series A appearances last season in central midfield, Benassi showed he could get up and down the pitch averaging 1.2 tackles per match and also notching 3 goals and 2 assists.

A regular for the Italian U21 side he featured against England last week.

This highlights the way that Ronald Koeman is building a squad at Saints rather than just a team, whilst it is important to sign proven players as he has done, he is also looking to bring in promising youngsters who have a blend of some experience along with potential.

This means that when the likes of Elias and Benassi are linked some Saints supporters panic and start to moan that we are selling our best players and replacing them with those not as good, that is not the case, every signing does not have to have the immediate potential to be an automatic choice, what they have to be able to do is be able to offer something to the squad as a whole.

Photo: Action Images

IanRC added 09:49 - Jun 27 Was it him that scored the first goal against the U21, an absolute cracker. Shame they were weakened by Southgates shameful team selection and in particular his omission of JWP.
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GeordieSaint added 11:04 - Jun 27 1.2 tackles a match does not sound like a lot to me, we should sign benni benassi instead. Who's you're daddy?
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bstokesaint added 12:05 - Jun 27 1.2 tackles a match or 12 tackles a match? 6 tackles in 5 matches doesn't sound all too impressive..
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IWOZTHERE added 14:53 - Jun 27 Sorry, Inaccurate as far as I'm concerned. We're not signing proven players, we're losing them and replacing with cheap youngsters untried in the Premier League. I understand and support the policy of selling the odd top player for top money and bringing in hungry young players with potential but not to the degree it seems to be happening (again!) Agreements may already be in place for sensibly priced replacements. If that proves to be the case then fair play to Ron and Co. but that's wishful thinking and no way should you be critical of supporters understandably concerned about the well-being of their football club.

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A1079 added 00:16 - Jun 28 Absolutely IWOZTHERE. Year in, year out, we are losing quality proven players which other top clubs want because they are. If these unproven players are squad rather than replacements and we have proven replacements lined up, then that may be ok (depending on who it is) but what it has shown is, that qualifying for a European competition is not necessarily an incentive for a club like ours when the bright lights and cash of the bigger clubs come beckoning, irrespective of how they have performed in the league. I have faith in RK and the club is being managed better than it has ever been for many a year, but it does not mean that as a fan that I cannot be critical of some of its policies.

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bstokesaint added 07:30 - Jun 28 I think we must just accept that as Saints' fans that this is the way things are now. Whilst there are clubs above us playing CL football, we'll always lose players wanting to fast track their careers at the top level, as opposed to sticking around for something that may never happen. I think it's perfectly acceptable to lose 2-3 players a season, especially if it gives us enough funds to improve our small squad. We can't complain given that seasons ago we never used to be linked with any exciting players. We were just happy to stay up. Now it is a case of 2 steps back, 3 forward. It's slow stuff, but it's progress. Just be patient and keep the faith.

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