Southampton are edging closer to signing Stade Brest left-back Romain Perraud, according to RMC Sport's live blog (22/06, 15:53).

What's the latest transfer news on Perraud?

It was revealed earlier in June that Southampton had agreed personal terms with the 23-year-old, who has also been linked with fellow Premier League outfit Leeds.

Since then, there has been a lack of an update on Perraud's situation - until now. It has recently been confirmed that negotiations are "progressing in the right direction" between the two clubs, indicating that Perraud should become a Southampton player shortly.

How close is the deal to being finalised?

The report claims that a full agreement has not yet been reached, suggesting that there are still some minor details that need to be ironed out before Perraud moves to St Mary's.

However, the defender is expected to leave the Ligue 1 club "in the coming weeks", so it seems that he is not far away from completing his transfer to the Premier League.

What were Perraud's stats in 2020/21?

Perraud only missed two league matches in 2020/21 as he got 35 full games under his belt for the French side.

Across the course of the campaign, he registered 10 goal involvements in the top-flight, including seven assists. He managed to score a goal and provide an assist in three separate fixtures, all of which Brest went on to win. In fact, he ended up on the losing side just once when he was directly involved in a goal in a game this season.

The full-back was recognised for his high-class performances as he received an average WhoScored game rating of 6.84 - significantly higher than the mark given to Southampton's regular first-choice left-back Ryan Bertrand (6.41).

Finally some good news in the transfer market for Southampton?

Southampton took just 17 points from their last 22 games in the 2020/21 season, and their start to the summer transfer window has been far from ideal as well.

Bertrand, who has been at the South Coast club for the last seven years, is moving on once his contract expires next week, while this season's top scorer Danny Ings and the team's captain James Ward-Prowse are also attracting interest from rival sides. Furthermore, there is uncertainty over the future of Jannik Vestergaard, with Southampton reportedly preparing to sell the defender this summer.

Given that they could potentially lose four key players in the transfer window, it is clear that the Saints needed some good news at some point, and they might just have got it. Perraud looks to be a direct replacement for Bertrand, meaning that Ralph Hasenhuttl is closing in on sorting one position ahead of next season.

The club's fans will hope that this marks a change in fortunes, and that Southampton can now build on this news and start next season strongly.