Oops! Its not Anfield but St.Mary's for Gaston Ramirez

Olympics Day 2 - Men

Newly promoted Southampton are on the brink of a major coup by signing promising Uruguayan international Gaston Ramirez for a reported record club fee of around fifteen million euros. Based on my last article on this particular player. it seemed Liverpool were the front runners for his signature but it turned to be a lightning in the middle of sunshine, as the Saints are ready to make their intentions clear of following Swansea and Norwich from last season by settling down in the Premier League as soon as possible.

According to Sky Sports, coach Nigel Adkins was in the transfer market looking for a big name midfielder who has fine European pedigree, and it seems Udinese have finally agreed to part with their most coveted asset, having rejected tenacious bids from the likes of Inter Milan, Liverpool and Tottenham over the course of the summer. It seems pretty surprising as to why the 21-year old Ramirez, who was an instant hit with the British crowd during the Olympics for his superlative performance in the three games that Uruguay played, chose to sign for Southampton rather than Inter or Liverpool or even Spurs where he would have been guaranteed European action. Still, this could be one of the marquee Premier League signings that Southampton would largely benefit from over the course of the long hard season.

In an interview with Corriere dello Sport, as reported by the respected Sky network, the former Penarol youngster has confirmed that he agreed personal terms with the South Coast club, and would be moving to the St.Mary’s provided he is given the expected green signal by the Italian club.

“The English club has reached an agreement with me, it is the classic offer that you cannot refuse for my life as a whole and my family.

“But they believe in me in every way, I will be essential and above all, they are going to grow. Southampton is a newly promoted team in the English top-flight but they will become a big team in years to come.

“They have told me they are going to build and that is very stimulating.”

The signing of Gaston Ramirez would make the Premier League all the more exciting, and it is really heartening to see teams like Southampton showing enough ability and strength to attract formidable talents from across Europe. This is the sort of trend that all neutrals would love to experience in the long run. The Saints’ signing of Ramirez would be a clear signal to the big boys of the English Premier League that there is still a game to be played at the end of the day, whether you have the necessary wealth or not. A day after Manchester United showed their title credentials by signing Robin van Persie after a long protracted summer transfer saga, it is time for one of the new boys to grab the headlines just a day before the big kick-off.