Southampton FC prepare transfer swoop for top-flight forward Leo Scienza | OneFootball

It has been reported that Southampton are interested in signing Heidenheim attacker Leo Scienza.

Southampton are eyeing up a move for FC Heidenheim forward Leo Scienza.

Will Still has taken charge at St Mary’s this season, following Southampton’s humbling relegation from the Premier League in which they collected a mere 12 points.

Saints are expected to be very busy in the closing weeks of the window, with plenty of players still being linked with moves away and quite a few also linked with moves to the south coast.

Southampton began their return to the second-tier with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Wrexham at St Mary's, with second-half stoppage-time goals from Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens to overturn the Red Dragons’ lead.

The game clearly showed that Still required time to get added cohesion into his squad, and that, despite the abundance of talent, the squad still needed work on it – and now they appear to be lining up a new signing.

Southampton line up Leo Scienza move

According to Sky Germany reporter Patrick Berger, Southampton have made initial contact over the potential signing of Heidenheim attacker Leo Scienza.

It has been reported that Saints have added him to their shortlist of potential targets for the rest of the window, with Saints’ Sporting Director, Johannes Spors, and their chief scout, Tim Lederer, apparently knowing the Brazilian well from their time in the Bundesliga.

As Berger goes on to report, Scienza is under contract at St Mary’s until the summer of 2027, and Heidenheim are expected to demand a ‘mid single-digit million fee’.

Scienza,26, joined Heidenheim in the summer of 2024 from Ulm, and he went on to score three Bundesliga goals last season, but he then scored a crucial second-half stoppage-time winner against Elversberg in the second-leg of the promotion/relegation play-offs in Germany to preserve Heidenheim’s top-flight status.

Southampton have a busy few weeks ahead

Ahead of the 1 September transfer deadline, Southampton have a lot of business to get done.

Will Still surely remains keen on trimming his squad, with several players seemingly wanting a move away.

Tyler Dibling has been kept separate from the first-team squad amid interest and bids from Everton, whilst Samuel Edozie is seemingly keen on a move to Club Brugge.

Alongside Dibling and Edozie, former Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo missed their opening day defeat of Wrexham due to being involved in transfer negotiations.

As well as that, West Ham United have had a bid rejected for Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes, whilst it has also been reported that Porto are interested in England international centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

So far this summer, Saints have brought in Joshua Quarshie and Damion Downs from Hoffenheim and Cologne respectively, whilst Aaron Ramsdale has departed for Newcastle United on loan, with Jan Bednarek, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw and Paul Onuachu among those to have been sold on to other clubs.

Kyle Walker-Peters has also left St Mary’s at the end of his contract, signing for West Ham United, whilst Juan Larios is among those to have been loaned out with the former Manchester City full-back joining Cultural Leonesa.