Saints have been linked with this target earlier in the summer but the trail seemed to have gone cold, but had it ?

Saints have report ably put in a 30 million euro bid for Juventus striker Simone Zaza much to the consternation of West Ham United who thought they were in pole position.

The Italian press is saying that Saints are testing the water with the bid and still not quite sure if they are going to firm it up as Claude Puel is still assessing his attacking options.

That could be because he is considering where he uses Nathan Redmond, if he does consider him a striker then that would give him four striking options in Shane Long, Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez and the problem would then be that 30 million Euros is a lot for a player who might not be a first choice in the team.

The reports in Italy do suggest that a move to England might not be the fist choice for Zaza who although wants to leave Juve, would prefer to stay in Serie A.

Saints supporters would be pleased to see that Saints are still considering striking options, the dilemma is the fitness of Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin, if you could guarantee that both would be fit for the whole season then it could be that Saints do not need to buy in any other strikers, but that is far from certain with both missing most of the second half of the campaign last season.

Saints have the money, but they are not going to blow it on areas they do not need and other parts of the team may be a priority.

Photo: Action Images

Dikki_Gutz added 10:26 - Aug 7 Zaza could be used to mesmerise defences with his Peter Devine class penalty taking.
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kingolaf added 10:50 - Aug 7 Hardly prolific. Would be a poor signing and a waste of money.
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corkcitysaint added 11:19 - Aug 7 He might be better off switching to rugby union to kick conversions. Especially with that stupid run up! I think we can sign better.
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abingdonsaint added 11:51 - Aug 7 Don't believe everything you read.....
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1970 added 11:52 - Aug 7 You would of thought that it would be crucial to hit the ground running if Puel is going to be a success, so spending this reported amount on Zaza is terrible decision if true, if we stay close to home and get Berahino we will just need to sort his head out, with enough change to buy another player, coyr good luck today
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highfield49 added 12:33 - Aug 7 With Gallagher reportedly going on loan to Blackburn for the season it seems more likely that we are looking to bring in another player up front but I really can't see Zaza as that player. Not only is the transfer fee ridiculous for a mediocre player but why would he want to leave Juve if he was confident in his own ability? Hopefully just a rumour put out by his agent trying to "earn" a few million in the process.

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SanMarco added 13:30 - Aug 7 I agree with all of the above. We need a striker but not him. The article talks about JRod "staying fit". I think it is a lot more than that - he has to get fit, stay fit and return to how good he was at the time he was first injured. This is a tall order - we all wish him well of course, but we need to bring in some more goals.
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Zambucco added 21:24 - Aug 7 Good points 1970 and Sanmarco. I have a feeling our buying has finished.
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