Daily Echo reporter George Rees-Julian says Ben Brereton Diaz is the “closest Southampton can get” to a proven Premier League striker within their budget.
Brereton Diaz scored six times in 14 appearances on loan at Sheffield United in the second half of last season.
“I think he’s a really good get,” Rees-Julian told the BBC’s Saints and Sinners podcast.
“We knew they were in the market for a striker when it became clear Che Adams wasn’t going to stay. They were in for Liam Delap but he went to Ipswich instead and they were going to pay around £15-20m for him.
“They’ve managed to get Ben Brereton Diaz instead for half the price of that. They have got a more experienced player who has played in the Premier League before.
“There’s a lot of positives in that. Yes, Delap’s younger and has more potential, but Diaz is still only 25. If you look at the profile of player he is, he’s 6ft 1in, he’s decent enough in the air, he can run in behind.
“When you have centre-backs like Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ronnie Edwards they are going to be able to play the ball over the top for him to race through.
“He also likes to play out on the left and drifts in to meet some crosses to score goals or just smashes them in or runs through on goal.
“With the fact Adam Armstrong likes to drift in from the right and you’ve got Brereton Diaz who can do that from the left and they’ve done it before together at Blackburn – I think that’s a really good partnership going into the season.
“Saints aren’t really in the position where they can go out and get a really experienced Premier League striker so Brereton Diaz for £7m is the closest Saints can get to that within the budget. I think he’s a really good get.”
Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
Ben Brereton Diaz,Premier League,Sheffield United,Liam Delap,Ronnie Edwards,Adam Armstrong,Taylor Harwood-Bellis,Che Adams,Southampton,Ipswich
