Southampton are refusing to give up on their pursuit of Swansea City defender Nathan Wood and will return with a third bid this week, according to journalist Darren Witcoop.
The Saints have made no secret of their interest in the 21-year-old centre-back and have already made two separate bids over the course of the past week. Both offers totalled £10 million, with the first believing to comprise of £7 million plus £3 million in add-ons, whilst the second slightly improved the upfront fee to £8 million.
Both offers were rejected by the Swans, as confirmed by manager Michael Duff prior to yesterday’s 2-1 defeat against Preston North End. Speaking in his press conference earlier this week, the former Barnsley boss said;
“I think there’s a bid, yeah. I think it got rejected. It’s a sign of having good players. If no one’s bidding for any of the players then we’d be useless. We think we’ve got some good players.
“Woody’s one of those. He’s got loads and loads of work to do, but he’s got a high ceiling in terms of his footballing ability and his attributes as well.”
Southampton manager Russell Martin was the man who brought Wood to the Welsh club last summer and he is keen for a reunion on the south coast. The former Premier League club are armed with significant funds following the big-money departures of Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Tella, whilst striker Che Adams also looks set to leave St Mary’s in the coming days.
Southampton will make a third offer to sign Swansea defender Nathan Wood this week amid fears skipper Jack Stephens faces a long injury lay-off. Leeds full-back Cody Drameh is also in Russell Martin’s sights before the deadline #soton #Southampton #lufc #scfc #SwanseaCity
— Darren Witcoop (@DarrenOWitcoop) August 27, 2023
Their opening offers have been short of Swansea’s valuation, but Southampton know that they have the cash needed to eventually land their man.
The England under-21 international has started all four of Swansea’s league fixtures this season, as well as the EFL Cup win over Northampton Town. He has so far made 48 appearances since his arrival from Middlesbrough and looks undeterred from the recent transfer speculation.
Writer’s View
Southampton are clearly desperate to secure the services of one of the hottest defensive prospects in English football. Their first two bids were always unlikely to be accepted, but nobody can blame them for testing the waters. However, we are now only a matter of days before the end of the transfer window and their third and perhaps final offer is likely to be somewhere nearer Swansea’s valuation.
The Saints have made a good start to life in the Championship and are hoping that their stay in the second tier is a brief one. They will see Wood as a player capable of making the step up to the Premier League, as well as adding Championship proven quality to the squad ahead of this season’s promotion bid.
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