Saints are being linked with a move for one of the rising stars of the Belgium International team.
The player in question is Dennis Praet who is the latest talent to emerge from Brussels club Anderlecht, although he spent most of his youth career up to the age of 16 with Genk
Praet is just 21 and won his first cap for Belgium in November last year.
He has been a regular in the Anderlecht side for three seasons now and despite only turning 21 in May has well over 100 competitive appearances to his name for Anderlecht.
He is not though a replacement for Morgan Schneiderlin, he is not a defensive midfielder but an attacking one best described in the modern game as a number 10 with the ability to link the midfield with the attack
Now he is being touted for a move to the Premier League with Arsenal & Manchester City linked and now Saints are being reported as joining the chase.
At first glance you may think Saints won't have a chance against these two, but the one thing we have these days is a reputation for giving youth a chance and playing them regularly, Praet was to join Manchester City he would struggle to get a game, at Arsenal he would have more of a chance but still his appearances would be limited, but at St Mary's he would have the opportunity to flourish and continue to build his career.
Players from the continent seem to take this view about building a career than their English counterparts who see to want to join the so called biggest clubs for the most money before they have much experience.