Southampton could sail to promotion with move for “beautiful” 5 foot 7 gem

Unbeaten now in their last 20 Championship games, Southampton are showing no signs of fading away in the second tier automatic promotion race.

In all competitions, the remarkable Saints have now set a new groundbreaking club record with 21 games on the spin without defeat and a win on Saturday away at Swansea City even saw the South Coast outfit jump up to second spot in the division for the time being.

To really put down a marker about their automatic promotion intentions, Russell Martin’s men should continue persisting with this swoop in January despite worrying recent developments.

Southampton battling it out for major deal

Football journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported on Southampton’s initial interest in Burnley winger Manuel Benson earlier this month, but an emerging transfer tussle with Leeds United means the Saints have now unfortunately lost any momentum on their side in sealing a deal for the Belgian’s signature.

Football Insider revealed, in a report late last week, that Daniel Farke’s Whites are in ‘very advanced talks’ to land the Clarets attacker at the expense of Martin’s on-fire Saints.

Still, nothing is set in stone until Benson officially pulls on a Leeds strip and so Southampton won’t just roll over for a promotion rival to significantly strengthen.

A deal to bring Benson to St. Mary’s until the end of the season could allow the Saints to sail towards an immediate return to the Premier League, with the 26-year-old a promotion winner himself from the second tier just last campaign with dazzling display after dazzling display for the title-winning Clarets.

How Benson fits into the Southampton team

Martin could have the best possible Saints selection headache if Benson joins this month, adding another high-quality attacker to his already talented group up top.

Benson could, however, edge players such as Ryan Fraser out of the side completely and form a ridiculous partnership with Saints sharpshooter Adam Armstrong in the process.

In his last full season at second tier level, the agile 5 foot 7 forward tore the division apart with blistering attacking performances becoming second nature – scoring 12 times and assisting a further three times across the full campaign that concluded in Vincent Kompany’s men being crowned outright champions.

A typically audacious screamer from Benson’s back catalogue that season sealed the title away at arch rivals Blackburn Rovers last May, a clutch player for the Clarets who could be a similarly effective hero in a Southampton kit if signed.

This unbelievable individual campaign saw football journalist Josh Bunting refer to Benson as a “beautiful” footballer, with reporter Dean Jones describing Benson potentially joining the Saints as a potentially “game-changing” capture in terms of the complexion of the automatic promotion race with Southampton possibly gaining an upper hand.

Coming in at an astonishing 15.75 progressive passes received per 90 minutes over the last year, with Fraser falling just behind with 14.86, Benson could be the missing piece of the puzzle the Saints need to make that second coveted automatic promotion spot their own to usurp Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town.

The Saints will watch tonight’s game between the Tractor Boys and table-toppers Leicester City with giddy anticipation, hoping McKenna’s men slip up on the big occasion at the King Power Stadium.

After that, Martin will hope luck remains on their side once more and the buoyed-on Saints can somehow pull off a deal for Benson even with Leeds currently in pole position.