Southampton FC join Middlesbrough in transfer battle for international winger | OneFootball

Cheikh Sabaly is of interest to the two Championship sides

FC Metz winger Cheikh Sabaly is reportedly of interest to currently managerless Southampton, who have joined Championship rivals Middlesbrough in the race to secure his services.

It has been a completely contrasting opening three months of the season for the two second-tier sides, with Middlesbrough currently riding high under Rob Edwards, albeit results have somewhat faltered at the Riverside Stadium in recent weeks.

However, their record-breaking start to the Championship season is still good enough to have the North East outfit residing in second at present, some 19 places and 13 points above Saints, who parted company with Will Still on Sunday night after a wretched run of form.

Indeed, a 2-0 defeat against Preston North End at St Mary's on Saturday afternoon was the straw that broke the camel's back for ownership group, Sport Republic, who deemed it necessary to make an imminent change in the dugout, with the 32-year-old winning just two of his 13 league games in charge after being appointed as Ivan Juric's successor prior to the conclusion of the club's dire 12-point relegation season in the Premier League.

At present, both clubs have greater predicaments to worry about than the upcoming winter transfer window, with the aforementioned Edwards now a firm favourite to take over at his former side, Wolverhampton Wanderers after the Premier League's bottom club dismissed Vitor Pereira after a 1-0 defeat at Fulham.

However, it has now emerged that Boro are to face competition from the newly-relegated South Coast side when it comes to landing the Senegalese international's signature at the turn of the year.

Southampton FC enter Cheikh Sabaly transfer race alongside Championship rivals

It has been reported by Africa Foot that Southampton are set to rival Middlesbrough when it comes to attempting to lure the 26-year-old winger to the Championship ahead of the second-half of the season.

Sabaly has been on the books of Ligue 1 side, FC Metz, ever since the summer of 2018, having previously progressed through the academy setup of Generation Foot, a club based in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

Throughout his spell at the Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien, Sabaly has firmly asserted himself as a regular as Metz have become a rather stereotypical 'yo-yo' side between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

Under the management of Stephane Le Mignan last term, 'Les Grenats' were able to achieve a first-time promotion back to the French top flight, with Sabaly racking up a total of 15 goals and four assists in all competitions, playing on both flanks and in the main centre-forward role across the season.

Indeed, Sabaly was part of the Senegal side which inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Thomas Tuchel's England side at the City Ground in early June, with his 93rd-minute strike securing a historic win for his nation.

He was then linked with a potential switch to the Riverside Stadium, with it initially looking as though Boro were to be successful in their aims of landing the forward, before Metz swiftly rejected what was described as a 'strong offer'.

It is now being reported that Sabaly is in negotiations with the Southampton hierarchy, who are looking to strike a swift deal, with his contract at Metz currently expiring at the end of the campaign.

So far this season, the winger has posted two assists in nine appearances as his side sit second-bottom on eight points.

Southampton, Cheikh Sabaly developments are intriguing amid managerial situation

Saints did acquire plenty of new attacking and creative forces throughout the summer, such as Finn Azaz, Tom Fellows and Leo Scienza.

In truth, whilst the latter was, arguably, Still's most-reliable performer in the final weeks of his tenure, a three-back system meant the young manager was often utilising wing-backs more than natural wingers, which meant Fellows' gametime was reduced significantly ahead of a recent illness absence.

Of course, Sabaly's ability to feature across the frontline makes him an attractive potential addition for a cut-price due to his contract situation, which would provide competition for all of Adam Armstrong, Damion Downs and Cameron Archer in centre-forward positions, as all three have been below-par thus far, whilst Ross Stewart's woes recently continued through yet another injury blow.

It is also intriguing that such developments have arisen whilst Saints are managerless, meaning that whoever takes charge may have to shoo Sabaly into the side no matter what.