Sky Sports has confirmed that Southampton have had a bid of £25 million rejected by Spartak Moscow for their Dutch winger Quincy Promes. Sky sources believe that the Russian side is demanding a fee in the region of somewhere around £30 million for their player.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino had previously confirmed that the club is working on a deal and are hoping to bring in Promes before the transfer window slams shut tonight. It is also believed that the player himself is keen on a move to England to play for Southampton.
Southampton had a twisted few months since the start of the new season with the Virgil Van Dijk saga dragging on for what seemed like an eternity. However, the chapter ended with the Dutch defender making his dream move to Liverpool for a mammoth £75 million this month. Van Dijk’s big money transfer has allowed Southampton to use his fee to bring in some much-needed reinforcements at the club.
The South Coast club made an extremely slow start to their season and are now struggling in the league. The Saints are now second from the bottom in the table and relegation is a real possibility. They have collected 22 points from their 24 allotted matches so far and need to buckle up for the second half of the campaign if they want to experience the riches of the Premier League next season.
A major issue of concern at St. Mary’s this season has been the lack of goal threat posed by the forward line. The Saints have scored 24 goals in 24 matches in the league, averaging 1 goal per game. This prompted the Southampton board to invest in the final third and the club brought in Guido Carrillo from Monaco for a club record fee of £19.1 million. It would seem that they are ready to eclipse their bid by bringing in Promes to add further firepower upfront.
The Dutchman has enjoyed a good spell in Russia scoring 53 goals in 101 league appearances. Promes has been in prolific form for Spartak Moscow this season having scored 15 and assisted 8 in 26 appearances. The 26-year old winger has the versatility to play in any one of the three positions up front and can be a real asset for Southampton in the final third.
However, the two clubs are yet to agree on a fee for the Dutchman and with only a precious few hours left in the window, it remains to be seen who will blink first.
