... as potential replacement for Victor Wanyama

According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Southampton have identified Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey as the replacement for the recently departed Victor Wanyama.

Southampton lost the services of star midfielder Victor Wanyama to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee believed to be in the region of around £11 million and replacing the Kenyan international will surely be a tough task for the Saints.

That being said, Southampton have proven themselves to be experts at rebuilding their squad over the last two seasons and the fans should be fairly confident that the club will be able to find a good enough replacement for Wanyama as well.

The Saints already seem to have started off their search to sign a new defensive midfielder and now according to reports from Mundo Deportivo, it has been claimed that the Premier League outfit have identified Atletico Madrid man Thomas Partey as a potential candidate.

Partey has proven himself to be one of the most consistent defensive midfielders in the Spanish La Liga during his loan spells at the likes of Real Mallorca and Almeria but the 23-year-old struggled to earn regular first team football at Atletico last season.

As a result, Partey making a permanent move away from the Vicente Calderon this summer has been seen as a real possibility and Spanish reports claim that Southampton could well be the potential destination for the Ghanaian international.