Southampton FC face Leo Scienza transfer fight as Paris FC submit 8-figure bid | OneFootball

The French side are attempting to hijack the Saints' move for the 26-year-old.

Southampton are facing competition from French side Paris FC for prospective transfer target Leo Scienza.

The Heidenheim attacker was first linked with a move to St Mary's on Thursday by esteemed transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Saints were reported to have agreed personal terms with the player, with the only remaining detail being the fee that would be paid for the 26-year-old.

Southampton's squad has a lot of forwards but not many natural wingers. The recent signing of Tom Fellows suggested that the new manager Will Still was looking to incorporate these high and wide players more in his tactical setups. The interest in Scienza was a further conformation of this possibility.

However, the road to the attacker is not without its roadblocks, and there is another club racing with Southampton to sign the Brazilian. According to Patrick Berger, Ligue 1 newcomers Paris FC also want to sign Scienza before the end of the window.

Southampton in Deadline Day battle for Leo Scienza

A verbal offer has been sent to Heidenheim, which Sacha Tavolieri has stated to be worth an initial €10 million (~ £8.6 million), and up to €12 million (~ £10.4 million) with add-ons included by Paris.

Tavolieri added that Scienza has always preferred a move to England, but the prospect of playing for Paris, and living in the French capital, is also appealing to him. It is now down to the player to decide which club he would rather join.

Southampton have until 7pm this evening (Monday, September 1), to get any transfer business done. The same applies to clubs in France, so the Parisians and the Saints will have no extra time over the other to convince Scienza to come to them.

According to Italian reports, this isn't the only deal that the two clubs are at war over. French winger Jonathan Ikone, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain, is set to join Paris FC. Southampton were said to be interested in Fiorentina's 27-year-old, as per Tutto Mercato.

Southampton manager Will Still needs to be careful about having too many choices

Still's desire to be tactically flexible has been very much reflected in the latter days of this transfer window. In his so far preferred 3-4-2-1 system, a signing like Fellows wouldn't obviously fit; neither would Scienza.

But they would give him the option to use traditional wingers in his lineup, and the chance to move to something like a 4-2-3-1 if needed.

On the flip side, Finn Azaz, who arrived from Middlesbrough for an initial £12 million, slots perfectly into one of the two spots just behind the striker.

Having this ability to switch things up either pre-game or mid-game should be a help for Still.

He does need to have an element of consistency to his tactics, though, to give his players time to gel and mesh into a coherent system. As long as he does that, moves for the likes of Scienza should only be bonuses.