Three strikers Southampton should sign to replace Graziano Pelle feat. West Ham star

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Southampton have endured a fairly tricky transfer window so far this summer. The club had an impressive season in 2015/16 – in fact it was their best in the top flight in the Premier League era with a points total of 63. Their sixth placed finish also earned them a Europa League spot.

As the season drew to a close, the next campaign promised to be an exciting one for The Saints. Soon after however, the club lost their manager, Ronald Koeman, and also key players: Victor Wanyama, Saido Mane and now their star striker Graziano Pelle.

In one of the most surprising and unexpected transfer moves of 2016, Pelle has completed a switch to Chinese side Shandong Luneng as the Chinese footballing revolution continues to grow.

Pelle, 31, has scored 23 goals in 68 games in 2 years at St Mary’s. His departure will be a blow for Southampton, as the Italian international has impressed not just Saints fans but football fans up and down the country. However, who should they look at signing as a replacement? Over the next couple of pages, we look at three of the best options. Leave your thoughts on the selection in the comments below.

An option with vast experience at the top level could potentially be Germany’s Mario Gomez. The 31-year-old has an abundance of big-game knowledge, an extremely impressive goal-scoring record for club and country and would suit Southampton’s style of football like a glove.

He would be far from a cheap option however, for he still stands as the third most expensive signing for a player transferred in the Bundesliga. It would be a major coup for the Saints, and also a signal of real intent.

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Gomez is currently on the books at Fiorentina, after just being on loan at Besiktas for the 2015/16 season. He failed settle in at Florence to begin with, but after his outstanding season in Turkey (26 goals in 33 games) and a good showing for Germany at Euro 2016 this summer, you wouldd expect Fiorentina will be willing to give Gomez another opportunity.

Stranger things have happened in football though, Southampton could really send out a warning sign to other Premier League teams. His classy finishing and aerial ability is known by everyone, and he is regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe.