Reports in Italy suggest Southampton have put in a bid for Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg who has attracted a lot of interest after impressive performances in Serie A. La Gazzetta dello Sport suggest the Rossoblu have received a €10million (around £8.5million) bid from Saints for the Swedish international. The 23-year-old impressed last season for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side who finished 13 th in Serie A last season. In 36 league appearances, Svanberg scored three goals and three assists including the winner against Jose Mourinho’s Roma in December. He also scored the opener and provided the cross for the winning goal in a 2-1 win at Sampdoria a month earlier.

The Swedish international ranked in the top percentiles (10%) in terms of dribbles completed per 90 (0.88), progressive passes received per 90 (2.35), and blocks per 90 (1.83) in comparison to all the midfielders in the Italian top flight, as per FBRef.com. Svanberg’s contract with Bologna is due to expire next summer. The club are willing to sell the midfielder if the right offer comes along, suggests Football Italia.

Links with Southampton first surfaced in January earlier this year and it was reported earlier this month that Saints had put in a ‘concrete proposal’ for the Swede. Svanberg has previously stated he would like to play in England and there have been links with Leicester City and Tottenham in the past, as well as AC Milan and Napoli. The 23-year-old midfielder has recorded nine goals and eight assists in 123 appearances during a four-year spell with the Italian club. Svanberg made the move to northern Italy from Malmo in the summer of 2018 for a €4.5m fee.

The midfielder rose through the ranks of Sweden’s most successful club before earning his debut at the age of 17 in May 2016, coming on as a substitute in a 4-1 win against an Ostersunds side who were managed by Brighton boss Graham Potter at the time.