Southampton should battle local rivals Bournemouth for Celtic midfielder McGregor

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Bournemouth are eyeing up Celtic playmaker Callum McGregor after Lewis Cook suffered a long-term injury, according to the Sun.

Eddie Howe is apparently a long-term admirer of the Scottish international and the injury to Cook may well press him into action.

But they are not the only club on the South Coast who should be looking at McGregor’s situation with interest.

One of the few shining lights of Southampton’s season has been the emergence of summer signing Stuart Armstrong and McGregor has all the attributes to be the next cab off the rank.

The report states it would take serious money to prize the midfielder away from Parkhead but relegation from the Premier League would no doubt cost even more and the Saints surely must give their new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl money to spend to reshape the struggling squad he inherited.

Armstrong’s presence at St Mary’s may help McGregor avoid some of the teething problems that often prevent January signings from settling immediately.

The Saints are dearly lacking midfield creativity and as much as Brendan Rodgers would love to keep hold of one of his talismen, the lure of playing in the top flight may be too much for the player himself to resist.