Southampton announced their record signing of Pablo Osvaldo from Roma for a fee in the region of ?15million. The Saints fought off competition from Tottenham Hotspur and many feel it was Mauricio Pochettino?s influence as he worked with him at Espanyol.
Pablo Osvaldo was born in Buenos Aires in Argentina and made his competitive d?but for Club Atl?tico Hurac?n in the Argentine second division. Osvaldo has endured some average campaigns in Italy but in 2010 signed for Espanyol where he started to fulfil his potential.
Osvaldo netted 20 goals in 44 league games and scored over a goal every other game in his final season with the Spanish club. His success in Spain attracted interest from A.S. Roma who signed the forward for ?15million with several bonuses. The recognisable striker spent two seasons with the Italian club notching 27 league goals in 55 games and further enhancing his reputation around Europe.
However, Osvaldo is known for his fiery temper which has seen him yellow carded over 30 times and sent off six times. He also had a changing room bust up with team-mate Erik Lamela who he punched because he refused to pass to the Italian international.
Southampton have now spent over ?35million and a new-look side have a real chance of pushing away from the Premier League struggler's and competing around mid-table. Osvaldo will join the recently capped Rickie Lambert up front who netted the winner against West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. The Saints have a nice balance to their side and like Aston Villa I feel they will surprise a few this season.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG