Southampton have been given the green light to make a bid for one of their summer transfer targets.
With the dust having settled on the club’s Championship play-off final win at the end of May, Southampton are now focusing on building a Premier League ready squad.
That work has started strongly, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis signing permanently following promotion as per the terms of his loan and Ryan Fraser also reportedly very close to joining the ranks once more.
Flynn Downes remains the club’s biggest priority this summer, but attention has started to turn to new targets with manager Russell Martin keen to add the quality required to implement his possession-dominant style in the top flight.
With that in mind, the Saints have been linked with a move for a versatile Bundesliga player who has experience all across the midfield positions.
Southampton target Leonardo Bittencourt ‘not unsellable’
Southampton have identified Werder Bremen’s Leonardo Bittencourt as a player who can add guile to their side, with his ability to play on either flank as well as centrally making him an attractive option.
Bittencourt has played the entirety of his career in Germany and, at 30, would bring experience as well as a creative spark.
A move to the Premier League could tempt the player of Brazilian descent, and Bremen director Clemens Fritz has signalled the German club would listen to offers for Bittencourt.
When asked on Southampton’s interest in Bittencourt, Fritz told DeichStube via Sport Witness: “We have not received anything. That’s why we are not currently dealing with the topic.”
However, the report states the director would ‘immediately consider an appropriate offer’ as ‘no player is unsellable’ and the club are ‘always willing to negotiate’.
Jurgen Klopp a fan of Southampton target Bittencourt
Bittencourt operated in a deeper role this season as Bremen finished ninth in the Bundesliga.
The diminutive right-footer has never been a huge contributor of goals and assists, but his dribbling ability an eye for a pass make him very useful in build up and he could fit seamlessly into Martin’s fluid side.
In 260 Bundesliga appearances, Bittencourt has scored 30 goals and provided 34 assists according to Transfermarkt, with his best season in terms of goal contributions coming for Koln in 2016/17 where he scored three and assisted seven in just 16 league games.
It is fair to say Bittencourt has never really lived up to his early potential after signing for Borussia Dortmund from second tier Energie Cottbus as a 17-year-old.
The 20-cap Germany under-21 international did not last long at Dortmund as he left for Hannover after just one season with Dortmund including a buy-back clause in the deal.
Jurgen Klopp was manager of the German giants at the time and eyed a potential return to the club for Bittencourt in 2014, as he said: “Leonardo Bittencourt is a player we are keeping tabs on.
“He has become very good in front of goal and played a lot of decisive passes at the same time.
“He definitely is now the starlet we recognised when we signed him for Borussia Dortmund from Energie Cottbus. He is a great talent.”
Now, as a 30-year-old, Southampton could help Bittencourt live up to the early hype with a Premier League move.