Sky Sports are reporting that Saints are chasing a signing that would truly excite the supporters and smash the club's transfer record, although as we know being linked with a player is a long way from signing him.

Saints appear to be getting serious about spending the Van Dyke money according to Sky Sports, the target in question is Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Promes.

Promes has been impressive for Spartak since joining in 2014 for around £13 million and it will cost a lot more than that to bring him to England, Sky say Spartak's starting price is nearer £30 million.

So who is Quincy Promes ?

He is a 26 year old Dutch International who although predominantly a left winger can also play on the right or directly through the middle, this season he has played 17 League games for Spartak and scored 10 goals and 6 assists, in the Champions League he played 5 times scoring twice and the same number of assists and add to that 3 Russian cup games and 3 goals and he has had a pretty impressive season so far. 25 games, 15 goals and 8 assists for those who do not have a calculator handy.

His career total at Spartak is just as impressive, in 101 league games so far for them he has scored 53 goals with 26 assists, that is the story wherever he has played and in his 25 caps for the Netherlands he has scored 4 times and assisted in another 4.

If all this is not enough he was also the Russian Footballer Of The Year in 2017 and Jurgen Klopp likened him to Sadio Mane after Liverpool's games against Spartak earlier this season saying.

"he can shoot very quickly and is a proper striker".

The player himself is said to be interested in a move to the Premier League although with over three years left on his contract as reported he won't come cheaply, but having only turned 26 a couple of weeks ago he is of an age where we can get real value for our money.

All in all he looks just like the sort of player that Saints need at this time and perhaps they are realising that having made a few extra bob on holding out to Virgil Van Dijk that perhaps it is time to up the ante in their outgoing transfer payments, it is certainly soething they can afford.

Some Saints fans complain that Saints have not properly replaced either Pelle or Mane and whilst not strictly true given that Charlie Austin was signed in advance to replace Pelle, it seems now that if they sign Guido Carrillo and Promes, they will have two players in that mould who will offer a lot in attack.

Of course being linked is a long way from getting them to sign, but it is a sign that the club although saying little are being proactive, they would of course prefer to get the signings done and then put the word out, but clearly that is impossible in this day and age.

Saints have the basis of a good squad now, signing Promes and Carrillo would boost it, however they should not forget the need to bring in a decent central defender as well.

All in all though even if they have to pay top dollar for Promes, they should still have enough for Carrillo and a central defender, given that on top of the Van Dijk money they are also likely to be able to sell on a couple of members of the squad who would be pushed further down the pecking order.

Photo: Action Images

RogerToye added 10:43 - Jan 19 In A word Dutch !!!
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Toussaint added 10:53 - Jan 19 Lol hes not gonna leave there for a relegation scrap in UK,not even Theo wanted any of that..we wont be buying anybody until the last day of the window when prices drop,except maybe the Monaco lad
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arthurfane added 11:00 - Jan 19 This would be a truly epic signing for us, and exactly what we need to inject some spark into our turgid, slow attack. Can't see this happening at all though. As Toussaint says, why would he want to come to us right now?
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ExiledSupporter added 11:02 - Jan 19 I think you have still got it wrong Nick 1) I don't think that another CB in the short term is as important as a good No.10 and 2) I don't think the club prioritizes a new CB since they always considered Yoshida as sufficient cover for Fonte in the season he left and then decided in the summer that either Stephens or Yoshida with Hoedt ( tyhe latter being bought in advance against the possibility of VVD being injured for longer than we could afford or in anticipation of his departure). You may be right that we could do with more authority in the centre of defence, but I don't thgink that is whatb the club are focused on; nor regretably do I think they will add to our organisation/game contrtol/goalscoring threat in the middle of the field, unless this guy Promes can be all these things at the same time. Seems unlikely at this distance...

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TimSaint added 11:04 - Jan 19 JRod replacement ?
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ericofarabia added 11:09 - Jan 19 Chicken George Lawrence replacement :-)
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Aussiejosh86 added 11:14 - Jan 19 Lets just sign someone and someone quick.. i say finish the carillo deal now, throw 25 to 30 mill at promes he will excite the fans like there is no tomorrow and i reckon throw up to 20mill to klaassen to sit behind the striker and play tge no10 role as tadic has struggled to do that. Put tadic back out on the wing. We will start winning games with them and they will continue to develop and r8se in value so there isnt a risk in the deal. Thats what i reckon anyways. Splash the cash this weekend to get them into the side in the nexr 7 days.. these players will keep us up in the premier league no matter what and then we can sack the coach and get a new experienced coach who plays exciting attacking football

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wolf660 added 11:28 - Jan 19 I think a Pelle replacement is top priority. If we had someone to hold the ball up top, we wouldn't have had to go so defensive against Palace when they changed to 4-2-4 in the second half. Corillo is the one we're after for that. However, this certainly sounds like an exciting addition that would add pace we're clearly after since losing out on Walcott. Agree with exciled re a centre back. Perhaps more focus on solidifying the central midfield pair would better help our defensive woes. Get Lamena playing at his best with Romeo would add better protection with an improved Hojbjerg battling for a spot. Good signings is the easy solution though. Get the players motivated and playing to win . . . that's the bit that's not working well at the moment.

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wolf660 added 11:30 - Jan 19 Watford more like!
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cornishsaint added 11:46 - Jan 19 Looks a very good signing but can’t see us paying 30mill for him, we can only hope les surprises us all as he plays very much like Mane so would be decent get Carillo in as well and maybe Jansen from Leeds at CB then surely we can create some momentum and move forward
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kingolaf added 11:59 - Jan 19 Hopefully he's a Koeman signing.
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highfield49 added 12:23 - Jan 19 I suppose the moves for Carrillo and Promes could be part funded by Gabbi leaving? Not that I'd want that to happen because I he hasn't had a fair chance to show his talent under the present manager, but how often is he likely to play if Promes arrives? If Promes is willing to sign then the fee shouldn't be an issue if the club has genuine ambition. That said we can only hope that he doesn't fail as badly as Ahmed Musa has at Leicester after joining from the Russian league. But if he's genuinely another Mane than we surely can't go far wrong.

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underweststand added 12:28 - Jan 19 Quincy Promes ? who ?.. but isn't this part of the strategy ...in the Southampton Way. Obviously we get " linked " with lots of players , and although annoying for fans expecting new signings , it creates a sort of "media smoke screen" to be connected with the player(s) , when in fact your target player maybe someone quite different who we are keeping "under wraps". I can't think that we belatedly returned to the Black Box when the Walcott deal fell through ... (if there EVER was going to be one ). If ever there was "FAKE NEWS " in the Soccer World, it's when every "bedroom journo" decides to add another name to the long list of players that we aren't the slightest bit interested in. There are lots on "unknown " names out there, and if this guy..or anyone else ..is over 6' tall and can score goals, then I say ...sign him ...He can't be worse than the goal-shy group we have already.

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cornishsaint added 12:43 - Jan 19 Be nice to see Promes on the left or right, Gabbi at 10 Carillo or Charlie up top and Tadic or Boufal on right/left with Lemina and holberg and Romeu in mid 3 CB’s and Bertie with Cedric as wingbacks makes us more offensive if the gaffer is prepared to play that formation, we can only hope so fingers crossed
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 12:54 - Jan 19 C'MON LES! SIGN HIM UP!!
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dirk_doone added 13:03 - Jan 19 Another brilliant PR stunt by the board. That is one thing, even I must admit, they are very good at. If only they spent as much time really trying to buy players like Promes as they do on coming out with PR leaks and trying to sell them, we'd be fine.
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PatfromPoole added 13:06 - Jan 19 Reading the article, it looks as if Klopp hasn't already tapped him up, he probably will do soon.
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petedoors1 added 13:17 - Jan 19 Well that's Another Week gone and NO New Players coming in for the next Game?
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wibbersda added 13:28 - Jan 19 Another transfer record signing that MoPo can put on the Bench! ...and Nick I know you are trying to keep the pressure up for a CB, but just let it go man, it aint going to happen.
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kenis added 13:44 - Jan 19 cornishsaint -Be nice to see Promes on the left or right, Gabbi at 10 Carillo or Charlie up top and Tadic or Boufal on right/left with Lemina and holberg and Romeu in mid 3 CB’s and Bertie with Cedric as wingbacks Are you suggesting we play GK-5-3-3-1? so 13 players on the pitch? think that woudl fix a few problems!
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saintmark1976 added 14:13 - Jan 19 Meanwhile back on planet earth.Another day drifts by and at the time of writing this who have we signed? That's correct absolutely nobody. As I posted yesterday we are one place above the relegation zone and haven't won a Premiership game since the dawn of time. Yet all we get, as so correctly pointed out by dirk doone is more P R and spin. With our ownership and management we are fast becoming the laughing stock of the footballing world let alone the Premiership.

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cornishsaint added 15:19 - Jan 19 Kenis if we could get away with that number in the side then why not it would surely help ! Or just a mix of those listed making 11 would be helpful lol
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the_saint added 15:23 - Jan 19 Carrillo would be a good signing at 6,2 and very good in the air and holding ball up. Promes would be an amazing player great stats and looks a great player bags of pace and eye for goal as well as a good team player but I really cannot see this happening and surprised nobody has picked him up yet so maybe it’s more his agent telling clubs he’s out there and wants to play in the premier

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pintsizedsaint added 15:57 - Jan 19 Quincy Promes is perhaps the most striking illustration of the black box in full flow. This would be the Mane replacement. Promes perhaps doesn't have the same raw pace as Mane, but he more than makes up for that in other areas. A massive strength is his crossing: he often "puts it on a sixpence" for the CF. His shooting accuracy is technically better than Mane (who you always felt didn't really know what he was doing himself until it happened...) and he can hit it hard and true from distance. Expect Saints to score lots more goals from wider positions if Promes joined. Promes is also very suited to playing on the left and right wing, and is very comfortable on the left. This is where Redmond (who has been deployed on the left) falls short. Potential weakness is his strength, which is perhaps why top teams in EPL have not come in for him. He may well find it difficult to out muscle and out pace EPL defenders. Yet people said that of Mane and he adapted fine. If it happens, this would be a classic Saints signing. Bags of skill and demonstrable performance outside of EPL, with the potential for it to be harnessed in the EPL. He's been on the radar of several top clubs (alas Liverpool and Klopp are huge admirers). He's at a stage in his career where he wants to get on a bigger stage, but top clubs in EPL are still unsure. It's also the case that Spartak want a lot of money for him, which will put several bigger clubs off. And so, if he comes, we should be clear that this would be a stepping stone situation once more. Bigger clubs in our league would be watching closely as he's in that bracket of high potential but lacking experience in EPL. If we got 2-3 seasons of top class performances out of him, and then sold for a healthy profit, I think that would be a good outcome. Anything longer would be a bonus.

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pintsizedsaint added 16:14 - Jan 19 Nick, you have said: "Some Saints fans complain that Saints have not properly replaced either Pelle or Mane and whilst not strictly true given that Charlie Austin was signed in advance to replace Pelle, it seems..." I don't think we've complained! I think the issue is that Saints haven't yet to adequately replace Pelle or Mane. Austin is a clear "like for like" but it hasn't happened for him (largely due to injury, which is not his fault - although it was a bit of a gamble from Saints perspective). Redmond and Boufal both can be attributed as Mane replacements, but they haven't had the same impact. Both have bags of potential (and I am not criticising them at all) but need more time. I feel especially sorry for Redmond as he's been played on the left where I think we don't get the best out of him. Promes is very happy on the left, so some pressure off Redmond to play on the right more often.

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