Will Still's old club could disrupt Southampton FC transfer plan as new update emerges | OneFootball

A battle ground is forming to decide who will land the Scottish international.

Southampton's plans to sign Scottish right-back Max Johnston could be scuppered by their new boss Will Still's former club: RC Lens.

The Saints were first linked with the Sturm Graz defender in mid-May by Sky Sports' Anthony Joseph.

They, alongside European clubs Atalanta, Augssburg and Hamburg, were all said to be interested in the 21-year-old, although Augsburg haven't kept up their pursuit as much as the other clubs, according to Joseph's latest report.

In the 2024/25 Austrian Bundesliga campaign, Johnston registered a goal and five assists in 24 appearances.

He moved to Sturm in the summer of 2023 after coming through Motherwell's academy system. He was released by the Scottish outfit at that time, and signed a four-year deal with his current team. They value him at £3 million.

Southampton in Max Johnston race with Will Still's former club

Johnston would have a natural place in Still's Southampton side considering the imminent free agent departure of Kyle Walker-Peters, who is being courted by a host of Premier League clubs.

The Saints have an even busier crowd to fight through to get to their right-back target as RC Lens, the clubs that their new 32-year-old leader was in charge of before moving to St Mary's, are also in the race, per an update from Joseph. Another French side, Nice, are also expressed their interest in Johnston.

This isn't the first time that the 21-year-old has received interest from the English second tier. Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City both had offers for him turned down by Sturm last summer.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Johnston revealed that he wants to play at the highest level one day, but he added that his current plans are to return to Austria for pre-season. "I've seen all the rumours and stuff, but for me, just now, I'm contracted in Austria for another two years, so I'm looking forward to going back for pre-season and we'll see where it takes me."

Lens' interest in Max Johnston is no surprise

The team that Still first gained notoriety with, Stade Reims, also had a bid rejected for Johnston not too long after the young boss left them and joined Lens. The Scot is clearly a player that Southampton's new manager has clearly had on his radar, so the possibility of the Anglo-Belgian's ex recruiting Johnston should've been expected.

When managers leave clubs, all the knowledge on potential transfer targets that they picked up is taken with them to wherever they go next, and the same goes for the club if the boss earmarks certain prospects as ones to watch.