Saints look to have beaten-off interest in Uruguayan winger from Premier League rivals.
Southampton to sign Bologna winger Gaston Ramirez for £12m.
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins has revealed the club are confident of signing Gaston Ramirez from Bologna before the end of the transfer window, stating a deal is “very, very close”.
The Uruguayan has been the subject of an ongoing saga throughout the summer, with the winger firstly linked with a move to Liverpool or Tottenham.
However, after any deal seemed to be dead, the south coast outfit emerged as favourites to sign the 21-year-old in what would be a massive coup for the newly-promoted side.
The Saints’ boss had been coy on the potential move last week, but reports in Italy suggested the highly-rated player had stated that he would not play for the Italian club again, after Bologna were blocking the transfer.
With the fee for Ramirez thought to be at around £12 million, any move would break the club’s transfer record set earlier in the summer when the Premier League outfit signed Jay Rodriguez from Burnley for £7million.
SOURCE: Goal.com
News broke somewhat prematurely on this deal several weeks ago, but Southampton now look set to complete the signing of the 21-year-old Uruguayan winger from Bologna.
Ramirez has been much sought-after this summer, with the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool also continually linked with the wide man, but Southampton look to have pipped their Premier League rivals to his signature.
Southampton have watched the likes of Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott leave for bigger clubs in recent years, but with the Saints now back competing in the Premier League they will be hoping Ramirez can be the quality player they will need to help them avoid dropping straight back down to the Championship.
Since signing for Bologna in 2010 the winger has bagged 15 goals for the Rossoblu and, should this move go through before the close of the transfer window at midnight on Friday as expected, Saints fans will be delighted that their club has been able to attract a player of his calibre.
Ramirez has made 9 appearances for Uruguay.