Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier believes manager Ronald Koeman should bring in attacking reinforcements before the transfer window closes on Monday.
The Saints (13-3-7), fresh off a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Swansea City, are currently in fourth-place in the English Premier League table with 40 points.
However, Le Tissier thinks the club may struggle to keep pace with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur if they were to lose top-scorer Graziano Pelle for an extended period of time.
“I would imagine he [Koeman] will probably be looking to strengthen in the centre-forward department,” Le Tissier said.
“At the moment we’ve been very fortunate that he’s [Pelle] not had any injuries this season, but we were looking a little bit light in the back-up department.
“Sam Gallagher has been out injured for a long time and Shane Long is going to be out for a long time as well. I think that department needs to be strengthened a little bit.
“Koeman’s transfers have all been pretty good, so hopefully he can continue that. If we get at least one in, it will give the team a little bit of a boost because [the Swansea defeat] was a disappointment today, there’s no question about that.”
With Jay Rodriguez still a ways away from returning to the first-team, Koeman is targeting Mainz’s Filip Djuricic and Feyenoord’s Tonny Vilhena.
“I think Jay is still a little while away from being ready for first-team action,” Le Tissier added.
“If we get the whole squad fit, it looks a pretty strong squad and hopefully we can see out the rest of the season, keep picking up points and challenging for that top-four place.”
Meanwhile, Koeman confirmed the club’s interest in both Djoricic and Vilhena: “We are interested in Vilhena because he is not happy at Feyenoord. He is not playing.
“I believe in the player, I believe in his quality, he is a young player and if I can help the player I like to do that.
The Dutchman added: “I’m interested in the player [Djoricic]. He is a good young player who can play in different positions.
“It is a good chance that one of the two players could join – and maybe both players.”
After tallying six goals and seven assists in 32 Dutch Eredivisie appearances, including 29 starts, under Koeman at Feyenoord last season, Vilhena has failed to score or provide an assist in 17 appearances in all competitions for the Rotterdam-based club in 2014/15.
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