Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Southampton's pursuit of Torino centre-back Lyanco.
What has Romano said about Lyanco?
Having revealed at the start of the weekend that Lyanco was travelling to England to complete his medical ahead of his proposed move to St Mary's, Romano has now stated that the deal is set to be finalised in the coming hours.
He wrote on Twitter in the early hours of Monday morning: "First part of medical completed, second in the next few hours. Lyanco joins Southampton on a permanent deal from Torino for €7.5m (£6.4m), confirmed and done deal.
"Paperworks completed, announcement soon. Here-we-go confirmed."
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What is Lyanco's pedigree?
The Brazilian started his senior career in his homeland with Sao Paulo. The 6 foot 2 defender made 21 top-flight appearances before securing a switch to Torino in 2017.
Having moved to Italy at the tender age of 20, Lyanco struggled for game time in his opening season, featuring just four times in Serie A, which led to him being loaned out to Bologna. He managed to get more minutes under his belt there, and has since returned to establish himself more regularly in the Torino starting line-up over the last two campaigns.
He has played 40 matches in Italy's top division since the start of the 2019/20 season, but he was left on the bench for seven of Torino's final nine games last term, as he fell out of favour under former manager Davide Nicola.
How badly do Southampton need to sign a centre-back?
Pretty badly.
The Saints sold Jannik Vestergaard to Leicester earlier this month, leaving them with just three senior cente-backs in their current squad, as new signing Dynel Simeu continues his development with the Under-23s.
They look to be short of options at the heart of their defence, and this has shown in the opening weeks of the season, as Ralph Hasenhuttl's men have shipped four goals in their first two league fixtures.
It is imperative that they bring in defensive reinforcements before the transfer window closes next week, so it is a positive step that they are closing in on landing Lyanco.
Will Lyanco be a good replacement for Vestergaard?
At this stage, it seems that Lyanco would be somewhat of a downgrade on Vestergaard.
The giant Dane has three years of Premier League experience under his belt, while Lyanco is yet to play in England. Furthermore, Vestergaard also showed his class on the international stage this summer when he helped Denmark reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020.
Lyanco has not received an international cap thus far in his career, so he is clearly playing catch-up in terms of matching Vestergaard's accomplishments. Still, he is five years younger than his European counterpart, indicating that he has time on his side to develop his game and potentially reach the level that Vestergaard has been playing at in the coming seasons.