Wednesday was a day of numbers starting with the 8th incoming signing of this transfer window and ending with a record away win at Newport County, but could there be a 9th signing in the last few days of August.

The arrival of Lyanco Evangelista Silveira Neves Vojnović more usually known in football as simply Lyanco was not a surprise, at least not if you have been reading the Saints social media of late.

The Brazilian of Serbian origin has joined Saints from Italian side Torino and is a 6ft 2 inch central defender who seems to be ball playing in the traditional Brazil style but with a bit of Serbian grit.

At 24 he does not have as much experience as you would hope for someone of that age with only 46 Serie A appearances for Torino plus another 13 on loan at Bologna.

But the hope is that we are buying potential rather than experience, however without seeming too negative here, we need a leader at the back, someone to organise and hold the back line as well as lead.

On paper Lyanco is not that man, but that is not to say he isn't and after the departure of Vestergaard he will be a useful addition to the armoury.

However I would hope that we make a 9th signing of the summer and that is an experienced central defender, not here to perhaps play in the starting line up, but to mentor our back line and coach them in training as well as be there to play when necessary.

But welcome to Lyanco and hopefully he will follow in a long line of central defenders who arrive at the club as virtual unknowns in England and make a name for themselves.

The club press release is as follows:

Southampton Football Club has completed the signing of Brazilian defender Lyanco, it is delighted to announce.

The 24-year-old today finalised a transfer from Italian side Torino, putting pen to paper on a four-year contract and becoming the latest addition to Ralph Hasenhüttl’s squad this summer.

Born in Vitória, Espírito Santo, in south-east Brazil, he began his career in the youth ranks at Botafogo before going on to play for São Paulo, where he would make his professional debut in 2015.

Lyanco, who also holds Serbian nationality, featured 25 times for the club, with his form earning him a transfer to Serie A in 2017, as he signed a five-year deal with Torino.

His development continued with a loan spell at Bologna in the 2018/19 campaign, ahead of him returning to his parent club, where he has been a regular over the past two seasons, making a total of 53 appearances during his time in Turin.

On the international scene, Lyanco has represented Serbia at Under-19 level, before subsequently featuring for Brazil’s Under-20 and Under-23 teams.

Lyanco said: "I'm very happy to be here. It’s a dream that I have had since I started playing football as a child to play in the Premier League and for a team like a Southampton. It’s a dream not only for me but for all my family too.

"I grew up in Brazil and the football is different there, then when I went to Italy I learned that you have to be focused more on tactics. My dream was to play in the Premier League and play strong football, and for me English football is perfect."

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 08:37 - Aug 26 Looks like a "no nonsense " lad who can take care of himself . Good signing. We need a bit of muscle at the back to match up to the "big guns" in the Prem. Look forward to seeing him action and hope we have found a type of Svensson, or Lovren.
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Saidou added 09:29 - Aug 26 Is he going to be the sort of singning that wouldn't be ready to play until at least December?
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Trojan_Otter added 09:29 - Aug 26 Hoping he's been chosen because we think he's the right player, rather than the most affordable option. Judging by the the rest of the new transfer dealings this window, we should be giving the club & the "gorilla" the benefit of the doubt.
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highfield49 added 09:38 - Aug 26 Hopefully another quality signing under the radar of other clubs. I can't agree with your desire for the club to sign a Cahill clone, Nick. The player you describe just doesn't fit the way the team is set up. That said, bringing in a recently retired defender with coaching and leadership skills makes more sense to me. A different role to that of Olly Lancashire with the B team, in as much as the first team players are older and relatively adult and need to uplift their awareness and communication more than lifestyle support and guidance. Why waste funds on a player, who won't get game time, when you can enhance the coaching input for the whole team?

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Saidou added 09:39 - Aug 26 Reminds me of the great exodus summer when we lost Poch, Lambart etc we were widely tipped for relegation but what many outsiders didn't notice was that we signed 7 or so players and then ended up having a very good season. Can we repeat that?
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derbydog added 10:55 - Aug 26 A full-blown Brazilian under 23 international signed from Serie A and you are still not satisfied? Still time to ask Bournemouth if we can get Cahill in on loan… move on Nick and judge him when we see him.
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KilkennySaint added 14:48 - Aug 26 Not too familiar with this Lad but happy we got a 4th central defender in, i would agree an experienced central defender would help not just Lyanco but the whole defense as a whole, i also agree with highfield49 that bringing in a recently retired defender would make more sense. I wonder if the club has ever consider a Michael Svensson or Claus Lundekvam type option, an ex club player & legend who would definitely be popular with the fans. Or maybe Fonte when he retires ?

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SaintPaulVW added 15:57 - Aug 26 Strikes as taking a punt on a player who may or may not work out. Definitely 4th choice atm. Right price for this kind of player. If top 3 stay fit we may not really see that much of him unless he really shows what he can do. In competitive sport that's how it has to be.
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pintsizedsaint added 18:46 - Aug 26 Lycano isn’t very well known - or experienced - so it will be more of a gamble. He’s not a like for like with Vester, but he is known to be very good with ball at the feet and can pick a forward pass for the counter attack. Deffo be used for quick transitions. He does look like he’s happy with physical elements of the game, so we shall see.
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