Southampton set to splash nearly £30m for two new players

Southampton are closing in on deals for Manchester City goalkeeper Angus Gunn and Gladbach centre-back Jannik Vestergaard, reports The Daily Mail.

Mark Hughes is determined to bolster his options ahead of the new season after Southampton narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship last term.

Southampton have already spent more than £20m to improve their offensive options following the arrivals of Mohamed Elyounoussi from Basel and Stuart Armstrong from Celtic and now they are now poised to strengthen their options at the back by signing highly-rated City goalkeeper Gunn and Denmark international Vestergaard.

Southampton switched between Fraser Forster and Alex McCarthy last season and Hughes has made finding a No.1 goalkeeper for the 2018/19 campaign a priority. Gunn spent last season on loan at Norwich and the England U21 international impressed so much that the 22-year-old was called up by Gareth Southgate to help prepare the senior squad before going to the 2018 World Cup.

Southampton have reportedly agreed a £10m fee with City, though the final fee may increase to £15m if certain add-ons are met.

Hughes is also on the verge of signing a replacement for Virgil Van Dijk, who joined Liverpool in January for a world record fee for a defender (£75m). Vestergaard has previously been linked with a move to the Premier League and now Southampton have agreed an £18m deal for the Gladbach ace.  

The 25-year-old is now free to sort his future following Denmark’s elimination from the 2018 World Cup and Southampton could announce before signings before the end of the week.

Only two players have won more aerial duels than Vestergaard in the last two Bundesliga campaigns (236), but no player has made more clearances (331) nor have they blocked more shots (60).