Southampton have joined in the race to sign Wigan Athletic midfielder, Nick Powell in the coming week.The former Manchester United player has attracted the attention of a lot of sides in both the Premier League and the EFL Championship and the Saints will have to splash a decent amount to pry him away from a promotion-chasing Wigan.
Powell was ruled out as a bust at Manchester United where he made only 9 appearances in 4 years. It was at the DW Stadium where he finally fit in and has played the best football of his career. The 23-year-old has played around the country with a couple of loan spells to Leicester City and Hull City before making the permanent move to Wigan in the summer of 2016.
The Latics have just signed James Vaughan from Sunderland and it looks like Nick Powell’s exit might not be very unlikely. The highly-rated midfielder with a lot of experience under his belt is one of the hottest prospects in the English game and is on the wishlist of many. Wigan have faced a plethora of offers for the maestro and it looks like they have already prepared for his departure. Although any interested club will have to deliver a fee of £1.5 million should they wish to pry away Powell from the League One club. A fee which will barely even scrape the pockets of a top pedigree side like Southampton.
The Saints are on a 10-game winless streak and have dropped to the 17th spot of the points table held off from the relegation zone due to goal difference. Their 1-2 loss to a rejuvenated Crystal Palace side caused outrage among the fans at home who are now calling for the head of Mauricio Pellegrino.
The manager has had a tough time in rotating the squad with a few key players injured and the exit of Virgil van Dijk has just compounded his troubles. They were held to a 2-2 draw against Watford last Saturday and the side’s transfer window approach has not looked very promising either.
Granted the side is suffering from a lot of injuries to key players but Pellegrino needs to step it up a notch now that the January window is about to end in less than a fortnight. Powell is a highly talented midfielder who can take up the holding midfield role behind the likes of Dusan Tadic and Steven Davis.
He can feature in the attacking midfield role too and his arrival can finally start to turn things around for the Hampshire side.
