da esoccer bet： According to reports by Italian media outlet Calciomercatoweb this week, Southampton are targeting a January move for Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario, but they should forget about him and sign Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek instead.
What’s the word, then?
da spicy bet： Well, Calciomercatoweb report that Saints, along with three of their Premier League rivals, are keen to bring the out-of-favour Portugal international back to England following a successful loan spell with West Ham United last term.
Calciomercatoweb report that the Serie A giants are keen to move the 25-year-old on in the New Year, and while a loan deal with an obligation to buy is an option they ideally want to recoup most of the €40m they paid to sign him in 2016.
Meanwhile, Loftus-Cheek has been very much on the fringes for Chelsea so far this season, but he took advantage of some rare minutes on the pitch to score a hat-trick in the 3-1 Europa League win against BATE Borisov at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
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Why should they sign the Blues man?
Even though the England international should have forced his way into Maurizio Sarri’s plans with his latest display, it might not be the turning point given the Italian has suggested he is struggling to fit the player in his team from a tactical point of view.
Loftus-Cheek has played just 33 minutes of Premier League football so far this season, and unless that number rises significantly in the coming weeks he will surely look to leave on loan in January – as he did when he joined Crystal Palace on a temporary basis last term.
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Southampton could certainly do with his goal threat from the middle of the park or from out wide given they have only scored six goals in their nine top-flight fixtures during the current campaign, and a loan move for the 22-year-old would be a no-brainer over a similar deal for Joao Mario.