ROTHERHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Tony Pulis manager of Middlesbrough looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Rotherham United and Middlesbrough at The New York Stadium on May 05, 2019 in Rotherham, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Southampton could secure yet another free signing this summer as one of their transfer targets has now triggered a contract clause that has made him a free agent.
Russell Martin has already welcomed Adam Lallana and Charlie Taylor for free, joining following the end of their Brighton and Burnley contracts respectively.
At 36 and 30, Lallana and Taylor bring with them a wealth of experience which will be invaluable to a relatively young Southampton squad.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ £20 million transfer aside – a deal agreed last summer subject to promotion – Southampton have been making some shrewd low-cost signings with Ronnie Edwards, Nathan Wood and Yukinari Sugawara all joining all arriving for a combined fee of just under £12 million.
The Saints could now continue this trend with a move for a striker who has just become a free agent despite his club wanting to keep him.
Southampton target Martin Braithwaite now available for free this summer
That player is Martin Braithwaite, the former Middlesbrough striker who is fresh off the back of a season in which he scored 22 goals in the Spanish second tier.
Those goals helped Espanyol to promotion to La Liga and had piqued the interest of Southampton with the player having a release clause of just £500k.
However, Saints could now get the 33-year-old striker for free, as he has triggered a clause in his contract that has made him a free agent.
That is according to Danish outlet Tipsbladet, who report that Braithwaite ‘had a clause in his agreement so that he could leave Espanyol free of charge until 15 July’ which he has now triggered.
The report also states that Braithwaite is ‘in dialogue with Premier League clubs Leicester, Southampton and Everton’.
Tony Pulis labelled Braithwaite ‘exceptional’ at Middlesbrough
Martin knows he needs at least one striker this summer, but most likely two.
Southampton cannot afford to shop in the bargain basement for a player who is going to score the goals to keep the club in the Premier League, but in Braithwaite they could get an experienced marksman in for free.
This would allow the club to then target a marquee striker, with centre-forwards coming at a premium.
Whilst Southampton fans may find it difficult to get excited about a 33-year-old striker who scored just nine goals in 40 games in his previous spell in England at Middlesbrough between 2017 and 2019, it could prove a decent signing.
Tony Pulis managed Braithwaite for the first half of the 2018/19 season in the Championship and was full of praise for the Dane after he scored three goals in his first five starts of the season, saying: “All the speculation about him leaving, in the last season he went to Bordeaux and he had to come back fresh from that, has affected him.
“He was playing really well, he was exceptional. He looked in every game like he was going to score goals for us.”
However, those three goals would remain Braithwaite’s only strikes prior to leaving the following January.
Perhaps the striker will feel he has a point to prove in England and could arrive at Southampton with a fire in his belly should Martin decide to make his move.
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