Will Still must push to seal Southampton FC transfer bargain - It won't be near £10m Liverpool sold him for | OneFootball

This Southampton move could prove to be the perfect steal to kick off the Will Still era

New Southampton manager Will Still must push to make RB Salzburg midfielder Bobby Clark his second signing for the Saints.

The first new face through the doors at St Mary’s Stadium was defender Joshua Quarshie from Hoffenheim, signed for £3.5m just days after Still got his feet under the table.

It has since been revealed exclusively by Football League World that the south-coast club are eyeing a move for former Liverpool man Clark.

He transferred to Salzburg last summer for a bumper £10m fee, but has not quite lived up to expectations, meaning a bargain could be on the cards for Still’s side.

It’s been a difficult season for Clark at Salzburg

Clark’s move to Salzburg has not quite gone how anyone involved would have planned.

He’s made just 17 league appearances for the side, seven from the start, scoring one goal, while being afforded a handful of cameos in the Champions League and bagging two assists in two OFB Cup outings.

To make matters worse, he was then left out of the side’s Club World Cup squad by manager Thomas Letsch.

Speaking to Salzburg 24, he said: "I decided on other players. I wasn’t satisfied with Bobby’s training week and therefore told him he wasn’t in the squad."

It’s the sort of scenario that can prove terminal for a player’s standing at a club; such harsh criticism will be difficult to come back from under the same manager.

It seems a parting of the ways could be the best next step for both Salzburg and Clark.

Clark could soon look a shrewd investment

However, such a difficult current situation could play right into the hands of the Saints.

Based on Southampton’s interest, it’s clear that the club rate the midfielder, but such a fractious relationship with his current manager will only serve to push his value down, as the Saints know the Austrian club will be keen to dispense with Clark, giving the English side plenty of leverage.

It likely means Still could land Clark for a significantly lower price than the £10m paid by Salzburg last summer.

The midfielder is still only 20 years old, so he is still only just starting out his career, and Still is a well-regarded coach who seems capable of bringing the best out of young talents.

It’s been a difficult year for Clark, but he moved to an unfamiliar country as a teenager, to link up with then-Salzburg manager Pep Lijnders, who he will have known from his time as an assistant at Liverpool, before that familiar face was sacked before Christmas.

It’s easy to see how those factors could have been unsettling for Clark, who may just need a familiar environment and a quality, thoughtful young coach like Still to get him back on the right path.

If they can get the midfielder for a knock-down price and build his confidence up in the Championship over the next season, it could soon look like a very smart deal.

Southampton will need to move quickly

Still must push his new club to get this deal over the line, because they’re unlikely to be the only English club having similar thoughts.

In January, it was reported that Swansea City, Derby County, Hull City and Rangers were all interested in bringing Clark in on loan.

The quartet are all therefore admirers of the young midfielder’s talent, and will be just as alert as Southampton to any potential cut-price deal on offer.

The new Southampton boss must urge his superiors to get this deal done quickly, beating off any other potential interest and kicking off his tenure with a smart bargain.