Southampton shouldn’t spend the £35m asking price demanded for Augustin

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Southampton are weighing up a summer swoop for RB Leipzig striker Jean-Kevin Augustin, according to the Daily Mail.

They report that the Saints are still keen to add goal threat to their ranks and have their sights set on Augustin, for whom the Bundesliga outfit blocks bids in the January window.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl worked with Augustin during their time together at Leipzig and reportedly wants a reunion to revamp the goal-shy frontline he inherited from Mark Hughes.

But Augustin will reportedly not come cheap; Leipzig will demand £35m if their former manager wants to bring the forward to the south coast.

That would be – by quite some distance – Southampton’s record signing, eclipsing the £19m the BBC reported the club paid for Guido Carrillo back in January 2018.

Carrillo’s failure at Southampton should act as a cautionary tale about taking a gamble on a big-money striker and spending that amount of money on a 21-year-old would undoubtedly represent a major risk.

Augustin is not a regular for Leipzig at the moment and that should also sound alarm bells at St Mary’s. For £35m, Southampton should be able to lure a more experienced, on-form hitman.

Alternatively, they could choose to use that money to revamp their entire squad after a period of stagnation; which would be a more sensible use of the money than blowing it all on unproven Augustin.