Southampton in transfer battle with West Ham to sign £18m starlet ‘rated as highly as Sadio Mane’

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Southampton are reportedly chasing the Senegalese striking sensation, but they face stern competition from Graham Potter’s West Ham United for his services.

Southampton are searching for instant promotion back to the Premier League this season, after the Saints’ ill-fated relegation to the Championship.

Earlier in the summer, Southampton appointed Will Still as head coach to spearhead the promotion push, and the St Mary’s transfer team have been heavily involved in the transfer market since Still’s arrival.

Still could lose standout Saints ace Tyler Dibling this summer, as EFL Analysis revealed this week that Tottenham are “very keen” on Dibling with a £50m price tag mooted.

The Saints signed Joshua Quarshie from Hoffenheim at the start of July, then followed that up with the arrival of Damion Downs from FC Koln.

Now, Southampton are fighting with West Ham for a highly coveted forward’s signature.

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Southampton battle West Ham to sign Metz striker Idrissa Gueye

Southampton require goalscoring recruits this summer ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign, and are now battling with top flight West Ham to sign Senegalese Metz striker Idrissa Gueye.

Earlier in the window, Southampton missed out on signing Lawrence Shankland alongside Ipswich Town, after the prolific Scottish forward penned a new deal with Hearts.

Southampton and Ipswich were tracking Shankland for several weeks, and the failed move has placed added pressure on bringing in a striker this summer.

Former Sunderland forward Ross Stewart has a point to prove at Southampton this season, but given his torrid time with injuries since moving to the South Coast, the Saints are looking to strengthen by pursuing Gueye.

Journalist Alan Nixon revealed on his Patreon: “West Ham are chasing Senegalese striker Idrissa Gueye – the teenage sensation at Metz – and fighting Southampton for his signature.

“Hammers have already landed international teammate El Hadji Malick Diouf and are now looking at his young colleague.

“West Ham are set to watch Gueye at the weekend in a pre-season friendly as they are pushed to make a quick decision on him.

“Southampton have already made an official approach for Gueye, who had an eye-catching debut campaign in the French second tier.

“Gueye was on the bench as Senegal beat England recently and is tipped by coach Pape Thiaw to be a starter soon.

“Metz want around £18 million for their latest discovery, a player rated as highly as Sadio Mane was in his time with the talent-finding club.

“Gueye has been picking up plaudits galore so far, and Metz director of football Frederic Arpinon worked with Gueye and has compared him to legendary hitman Olivier Giroud.”

Despite being inexperienced, Still will be excited at the prospect of signing Gueye, after his breakout campaign in the French second tier last season.

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Will Still will hope Southampton target Idrissa Gueye can be next Sadio Mane

The 18-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign for Metz in Ligue 2 last season, scoring six goals and registering one assist from 17 appearances.

In our early 2025/26 Championship predictions, EFL Analysis tipped Southampton for promotion in Still’s debut season in charge, and the Senegalese starlet would be a massive benefit.

Gueye’s above statistics show that his rash nature in front of goal, which will be ironed out with time and development, can be mitigated by his evident finishing ability in scoring six goals from just 11 shots on target.

If Gueye signs for £18m, he would join Jannik Vestergaard in fifth of Southampton’s most expensive signings ever.

That outlay would prove to be a bargain if he can reach the heights of former Saints ace and countryman Mane, who scored 25 goals in 75 games for Southampton before joining Liverpool in 2016.