Southampton FC may soon laugh at Leeds United, Aston Villa transfer mission | OneFootball

Leo Scienza has been linked with a move away from St Mary's amid Saints' promotion push

Since mid-January, Southampton have turned themselves into a winning machine under Tonda Eckert, and now cannot be ruled out of the automatic promotion conversation.

After a dismal start to the German's permanent tenure following the handing of a contract until next summer, Saints have gone unbeaten across 18 matches in the Championship and FA Cup, with Hull City the last side to defeat the South Coast club on January 17th.

Back then, you would have been extremely hard-pressed to have found any Southampton supporter still sharing any form of belief that their club would gatecrash the top six picture in the final months of the campaign, never mind being within just three points of second-placed Ipswich Town with four matches of their league season to go, whilst also gearing up towards an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City.

However, several high-quality players throughout the squad, coupled with January additions, have well and truly stepped up to the mark, with Eckert's side also taking full advantage of sides previously above them suffering from extremely inconsistent runs of form.

One of those key men, without question, has been Brazilian winger, Leo Scienza, who was acquired by his predecessor, Will Still, on Deadline Day in September from FC Heidenheim of the Bundesliga.

Given his previous top-flight pedigree, as well as that in European competition, it hasn't taken long for the 27-year-old to showcase his talent on the Championship stage, and Saints may now have a strong chance of retaining his services despite intense transfer speculation.

Leo Scienza's stellar Southampton FC performances have led to intense Premier League transfer interest

The Venâncio Aires native was signed for approximately £8.6m on a four-year contract last summer, and that has proven to already be a bargain figure for the side chasing an immediate return to the Premier League.

Even throughout Still's short-lived tenure, Scienza was often one of very few bright sparks for Saints supporters to cheer about, and he has cranked up his performance levels and output further notches since the entire side began to brim with confidence a handful of weeks ago.

In just 33 Championship appearances, the winger has scored seven times and posted a further nine assists, as well as aiding their run to the FA Cup semi-final, which saw clubs from Premier League sides watch his quarter-final masterclass against top-flight leaders, Arsenal.

Since then, it has been reported that his terms at St Mary's include a £25m release clause, with the likes of Aston Villa and Leeds United just two sides actively pursuing a move.

In truth, it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that both the Villans and the Whites are competing in Europe next season, with the former currently in a UEFA Champions League spot again under Unai Emery, whilst the Spaniard has Villa as favourites to win the Europa League.

Leeds, meanwhile, could be in that exact competition next season if they were to win the FA Cup for the second time in their history, something which Southampton have a keen eye on given they face the Citizens 24 hours before United's last-four tie against Chelsea.

Southampton won't fear selling Leo Scienza in the summer amid promotion charge

Earlier in the campaign, it was debated that Saints had minimal chance of seeing Scienza begin the second campaign of his initial four-year deal with Saints as they looked destined to remain in the Championship without a sniff of promotion.

However, with no side accruing more points than them since January, they are now a team to fear, whether that is from Ipswich's perspective in the top two race, or from the likes of Millwall, Middlesbrough and Hull in the play-off battle which comes next month.

Saints, of course, have now played one more game than the Tractor Boys, but they are now within their reach ahead of a mouth-watering clash between the two sides on April 28th.

Therefore, those on the South Coast may not be fearing an exit for Scienza anymore, which would be a huge blow to the transfer plans of many top-flight sides.