Southampton are in the process of finalising a pre-contract deal with Sao Paulo star Welington and could then look to bring him to England early.
Saints scouts have been left impressed by the 23-year-old left-back, who has notched up 12 Brazilian Serie A appearances already since the start of the season in April.
He has interest from Italy where Torino are also keen on having him for next season, but Southampton are rapidly closing in.
According to Brazilian outlet UOL, Southampton are in the final stages of securing Welington’s signature on a pre-contract agreement.
The left-sided player is out of contract at Sao Paulo at the end of the year and free to negotiate and sign a deal with Saints.
Southampton and the player’s camp are exchanging drafts of the contract to fine tune the details and reach an agreement.
Then Welington will be able to sign the pre-contract deal.
Saints do not ideally want to wait until the January transfer window to sign Welington though and would like him this summer.
Sao Paulo will want a cash deal to let the player go early and Southampton will have to reach an agreement.
Welington has represented Brazil up to Under-23 level.
