Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray admits they are weighing up a move for Michael Obafemi.
The Republic of Ireland striker remains low on the Southampton striker totem pole, despite the departure of Danny Ings to Aston Villa.
The Saints are on the verge of signing Adam Armstrong from Blackburn, fending off competition from Norwich City and Crystal Palace.
Norwich had been contemplating using Adam Idah as a make-weight for Armstrong, who scored 28 goals in the Championship last season.
Armstrong is due to complete a medical at St. Mary's on Tuesday morning, clearing the road for a £15million (€17.7m) move. Any deal involving Obafemi would be separate to the Armstrong transfer.
"It’s something that’s been mooted," Mowbray said of the Obafemi interest, Those sort of things become personal to the point the boy wants to make that move, his advisors have to see it as an opportunity.
Obafemi made his Premier League debut for Southampton in January of 2018 at the age of 17. Just ten months later he made his Ireland debut in a scoreless draw away to Denmark.
He scored 3 goals in 21 Southampton appearances during the 2019-20 season, but last term managed only 4 matches, and all as a substitute.
Mowbray added, "If it’s one he sees as a good chance for him to play more regular football at a level he sees himself doing similar things to Adam and build his reputation.
“It’s something we’re exploring but I won’t sit here and say that anything is happening, we will see in the next couple of days if anything materialises.”
The Blackburn boss says his interest in Obafemi pre-dates his impending loss of Armstrong.
"I have watched him for the last three months," Mowbray revealed.
“I was aware of him making his debut, he made quite a bit of noise a couple of years ago.
“I have studied him a lot recently and I see similarities with Adam, he’s mobile, fast, can score, he’s a young boy but we use attributes to help the team play in a certain way.
“He has the attributes that will help our team but it’s not something we should be saying is a done deal as I’ve not personally spoken to the player so let’s see what the next few days bring.”
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