Southampton are looking poised to make a number of new signings in this season, but they have only managed to bring in Jan Bednarek from Lech Poznan in the summer so far, with a view to strengthening their defence for the next season. It has been a problematic area for the South Coast club throughout the last season, which restricted them to make an entry into the top six on the League table.
The Saints are making efforts to bring in the Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour from the Spanish La Liga club Valencia, who has been one of the players to have fallen out of favour under their current team management, who are more inclined towards using Eliaquim Mangala beside Garay in order to safeguard his defence in the last term.
The present Southampton boss, Mauricio Pellegrino, has been the coach of the Spanish La Liga outfit Alaves for quite a long time and is well aware of the importance to have a player like Abdennour in the squad. The defender has been one of the most highly regarded centre backs in the current scenario, with a proven track record, that makes him a good choice for the Saints if they can land him in the summer.
The player made 43 appearances so far for the Spanish outfit, out of which only 13 came in the last term. The 27-year-old made 35 appearances in the season prior to that and was considered to be a potential candidate for making a move to the English Premier League, with the present champions Chelsea having a profound interest in bagging him for the last term.
The Tunisian is known for his solid presence in the backline for his team, both national and club level, and can tackle the opponents to dispossess them off the ball. He is also known for his ability to hold the ball for a significant amount of time, and also keep the opposition strikers at bay.
However, the 27-year-old is looking forward to revamping his career once again by playing in the Premier League and has attracted interests from a number of English clubs including the likes of Southampton and Leicester City. In this race, though, the Saints are currently looking favourites to outrun the others and grab their desired player for the next season.
Given his track record and his experience of playing in clubs like Valencia and Monaco, Abdennour can turn out to a brilliant addition to the Southampton line-up for the next term.
