Saints are looking towards Salzburg, not for the sound of music, but for a midfielder, although this one will perhaps not have the wow factor for Southampton fans that they were hoping for.

The man in question is 2o year old central midfielder Bobby Clark who joined RB Salzburg from Liverpool for a fee of £10 million last summer.

At Anfield his first team chances were limited, he made just 6 Premier League appearances for Liverpool totalling 94 minutes, although. He did rack up a few more minutes game in various cup competitions for the Reds.

He joined RB Salzburg hoping for more game time, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way, he has started just 7 League games with another 10 off the bench plus 6 Champions League games & 1 Austrian cup appearance.

Due to injury he missed a big chunk of the last half of the season and now it seems that Salzburg are open to offers and Saints are one of the clubs interested with the Austrian club willing to take a loss on their transfer fee paid, £8 million quoted as the starting price.

This won’t go down well for some supporters who will point at the fact that we need experience and not youth in what is a key area of the park, however it should be noted that Mateus Fernandes arrived at St Mary’s short on age and experience and he didn’t do too bad a job.

So Clark could re-ignite his career in the Championship and perhaps go on to better things, hopefully with Saints at least that seems to be the plan.

Reuters

saintmark1976 added 08:01 - Jul 2 “ Due to injury he missed a big chunk of the last half of the season “. So did Ross Stewart before he joined but that didn’t stop us wasting £10 million. It’s the Sports Republic way.
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davidargyll added 09:06 - Jul 2 If Clark was injured for a lot of last season, it in no way follows that he is another RS; but if nothing else I would imagine that the medical staff will be twice as wary about making sure his injury is not critical before making a recommendation to buy him.
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saintmark1976 added 09:19 - Jul 2 Then surely davidargyll, the sensible thing to do is to buy players that haven’t got a recent injury record ? That way our medical staff simply can’t make another complete mess and waste further £millions can they ?
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Block8 added 09:31 - Jul 2 This could be a very good signing, he looked class in a Liverpool shirt and showed a lot of promise. Signed by one manager and then the familiar scenario when there is a change and a new man comes in. He isn't my signing & I don't want him seems to be Letsch 's viewpoint. It's definitely worth a punt!
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Jesus_02 added 10:53 - Jul 2 This seems like a decent punt to me and we should make it happen. We need to be buying players wethink may have a chance in the PL. As fans we need to get used to the fact that no team in the Championship is in a possition to buy PL players. Look at the Fraser Forster situation. He is available on a free and we could really do with a keeper of that quality especialy if Ramsdale leavies. He is off to Newcastle to be their 3rd choice and fullful the UEFA "home trained" quota. Established players have far more lucrative oportunities in the MLS or Saudi. All really have to offer is oportunity which is why we are forced to speculate on younger players or foriegn players that have a distant hope of playing in the PL. I ay sign him up . if we can get a loan with a simlar option to buy like THB all the better.

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beynali73 added 12:24 - Jul 2 Sports Republic have got to convince us they are capable of making the correct managerial appointment and buy sufficient players who can play today rather than those which 'might' make them money in several years time. If they pursue the process they have done over the past few years we'll stagnate in the championship for a few years until the parachute money runs out. Best not speculate beyond that. We've been sleepwalking into tragi-comedy since they took over. However, giving them the benefit of the doubt for now, they have at least put someone in charge of football matters now (how the hell did they leave this gap unfilled for most of last season) but it still feels like everything they do is still a speculative risk rather than a strategy led process. I do not trust them to get things right due to the pigs ear they've made of recruitment so far and my expectation is low but that is part and parcel of being a Saints fan. When we succeed its a genuinely ecstatic feeling. COYR's

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underweststand added 12:48 - Jul 2 In short .... a talented lad who made the most of his chances at Liverpool, but has now fallen foul of a foreign a manager who doesn't rate him and is still trying to regain fitness. Haven't we heard this story a few times in the last decade?. Columnists (like yourself Nick) can make a lot out of such stories, but Clark rates as one of two dozen or so players since May who " Saints are watching / chasing/ keen to sign ". He may sound "good enough" on paper, but I won't be holding my breath on this one.

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ElSanto added 17:06 - Jul 2 Like the look of him from youtube.
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SaintPaulVW added 11:49 - Jul 3 Don't think SR do marquee big name signings, so expect us to be in for this type of player. Whether it happens is dependent upon a lot of factors, most of which are out of our control.
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Bowlercow added 15:50 - Jul 3 Also rumoured to be in for a Sheffield Wednesday m/f player He may be available on a free because of the money problems they have If they fail to pay a players earnings on time in two consecutive months they are deemed to have broken the contract allowing the player to become a free agentg
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