According to reports in The Sun, Southampton are interested in signing Arsenal winger Theo Walcott with the Gunners ready to sell during the January transfer window, but the Daily Mail reports that Premier League rivals Everton are also keen on the 28-year-old and have submitted an enquiry.
The England international looks set to leave in the New Year after spending 12 years at the Emirates Stadium, having found first-team opportunities increasingly hard to come by this season – he has featured for just 46 minutes in the English top flight this term.
While The Sun says that both Saints and West Ham United want the attacker to boost their struggling frontlines, the Daily Mail says that new Toffees boss Sam Allardyce also wants the versatile forward as he looks for players that are proven at this level.
While the south coast outfit are keen to bring Walcott ‘home’ 12 years after he left St Mary’s, if they were to lose out to the Merseyside club then they could make a shrewd move by targeting Toffees wide man Ademola Lookman instead.
Here are three reasons Southampton should move for the 20-year-old if Everton win the race to sign Walcott…
Lack of game time
Everton won the race to sign the exciting Lookman from Charlton Athletic during the January transfer window at the start of 2017, but despite making a big impression in the second-half of the Premier League campaign – and scoring his first top flight goal against Manchester City – the winger has found first-team minutes hard to come by for the struggling Toffees this term.
The 20-year-old has only played 141 minutes of Premier League football – across six appearances – and in his only start against Crystal Palace last month he was taken off at half-time.
The arrival of Walcott at Goodison Park would surely push the winger even further down the pecking order at Goodison Park, and Southampton could take advantage of that blow for the player by offering him an escape route and more regular football at St Mary’s.
His qualities
Besides from perhaps Nathan Redmond and Shane Long, Southampton have a real shortage of pace in their frontline and that is something that Mauricio Pellegrino may want to change during the January transfer window – the link to Walcott certainly suggests that is the case.
If Saints were to miss out on the 28-year-old, there is no doubt that Lookman offers similar speed and dribbling abilities and even though his time on the pitch has been limited in the Premier League this season, according to Squawka he has still successfully completed six of the 10 take-ons he has attempted.
That pace and worry that he can instil into his defensive opponents because of his ability on the ball mean that he would be a very useful addition for the south coast outfit – especially from a counter-attacking point of view.
Point to prove and potential
If Southampton were able to bring Lookman to St Mary’s in January, there is no doubt that he would have a big point to prove to Everton.
Having impressed in eight appearances last season the 20-year-old will have been frustrated by his lack of opportunities this term, and he would certainly look to show the Toffees that they were wrong to let him go with some influential performances on the pitch.
The England U21 international has great potential, and Saints may feel that they can give him the platform to progress and develop on that the Merseyside outfit haven’t been able to do so far.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.
