Barcelona forward Paco Alcacer makes no secret of his frustration at being unable to secure a regular place in the Blaugrana starting line-up.
Signed for €30m in August 2016, the 13-times capped Spanish international was expected to be a shining star for the Catalans but the move hasn’t lived up to his expectations with the Daily Mirror reporting Alcacer heading toward the Camp Nou exit.
Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrini is a keen admirer and is already in talks with Barcelona over a possible deal during January. Formerly in charge at Alaves, the Argentinean saw how effective Alcacer can be in front of goal when the striker scored the final goal in the 3 – 1 win over the Basques in the 2017 Copa Del Rey final.
The goalshy Saints languish in the bottom half of the Premier League table and are desperate to sign a consistent goalscorer to ignite their season.
They face competition from Ligue Un though. Lille’s find themselves in a more perilous position than Southampton, sitting in 16th and out of the relegation zone by one goal.
The French club has netted just six times in the eight league fixtures this season with new boss Marco Bielsa also unable to inspire the improvement the board were hoping for. Improving on last season’s 11th placed finish is looking more of a pipedream with each passing week.
Southampton are ahead in the race at the moment but is the momentum in the favour as we head toward the January window?
