Saints leapfrogged Pool again in race to sign Coutinho

• zocoss

  19 Jan 13, 11:34

  Forren policy: Defender seals £4.2m move to Southampton after snubbing Liverpool

  The centre back becomes the second player after Gaston Ramirez to snub Liverpool in favour of the Saints

  

  New boys: Vegard Forren shakes hands with his new boss, Mauricio Pochettino

  

   

   

   

   

   

  Vegard Forren has given Southampton fans some cheer by signing for the club on the day they harshly sacked manager Nigel Adkins.
  

  The centre back was set to move to Liverpool on trial but the south coast side acted quickly to bring him to St Mary's on a three-and-a-half year deal.
  

  Saints desperately needed to boost their defensive options and this £4.2million acquisition will be viewed as a relative coup for the club.

  Forren said: 'It’s a dream come true for me. Southampton is a big club in the Premier League, which is where I have always wanted to come and play football.

  
  

  'When I was told of the interest from Southampton, straight away I wanted to come and talk to the chairman.
  

  'We had a chat and I was very impressed — there was no doubt that this is where I wanted to be.
  

  'The plan the chairman has for this club is fantastic. There is a good, young squad here and the way they play fits me well, so I hope I can join the team and get some good results.'

   

  

  Change of plan: Molde defender Vegard Forren has abandoned a trial at Liverpool in favour of Southampton

  

   

   

   

  Fulham and Everton were also tracking the 24-year-old but new Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino will be able to deploy him as he bids to avoid the drop.

  Forren has appeared five times for Norway and made 158 appearances for Molde between 2007 and 2012, scoring six goals.

• charlize

  19 Jan 13, 21:43

  Times are bad when even players opt for relegation candidates rather than Liverpool.

• zocoss

  24 Jan 13, 23:35

  Saints steal a march on Liverpool after £10.2m Coutinho bid is accepted by Inter

  

  Wanted man: Both Southampton and Liverpool have bid for Coutinho

   

   

   

  Southampton have leapfrogged Liverpool in the race to sign Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan after having a £10.2million bid accepted for the midfielder.
  

  The rival offer comes as Barcelona express an interest in signing Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, 30, but in the summer window as a replacement for the departing Victor Valdes.

  Liverpool will step up interest in goalkeeping targets as they prepare for his departure but more pressing is the negotiations with Inter for Coutinho.
  

  They had a £6.3m offer rejected for the Brazilian last Friday and have improved that bid to £8m.

  They will now have to match Southampton's package to stand a chance of luring Coutinho to Merseyside. Southampton manager Maurico Pochettino had the 20-year-old on loan at Espanyol last season.

  West Brom, meanwhile, are weighing up a loan for Liverpool's out of favour defender Sebastian Coates after allowing Craig Dawson to join Bolton on loan. West Brom boss Steve Clarke worked with Coates at Anfield. Wigan are also in the frame.

  
  
• I.imba

  31 Jan 13, 19:46

  Nope. haha, this time Southampton didnt get this guy.

  And midfield player is getting really piled up