SAINTS are chasing Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, according to unconfirmed reports.

It appears Ronald Koeman could be targeting the Mexican two time Premier League-winner to bolster his strikeforce.

If the deal, rumoured to be around £15m, goes ahead it will come as a relief to Saints fans who have seen the club sell several first-team stars over the past few weeks.

Daily Echo:

Javier Hernandez scores for Mexico against Croatia in the 2014 World Cup

Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren have all joined Liverpool while left-back Luke Shaw left for Manchester United.

Academy graduate Calum Chambers, 19, was the latest to leave with the right-back signing for Arsenal for a deal worth up to £16m despite making just 21 league appearances for Saints.

It means the St Mary’s-based club has raked in more than £90m this summer but fans have been calling for that cash to be reinvested.

Left-back Ryan Bertrand was signed on a season-long loan from Chelsea earlier this week while Dusan Tadic and Graziano Pelle were brought in as replacements for Lallana and Lambert respectively.

Now Hernandez could be another part of Koeman’s plan to build on last season’s success, although Saints could face competition from Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid who have also been linked with the Mexican.

Who is Javier Hernandez?

  • Mexican Javier Hernandez Balcazar joined Manchester United in summer 2010 and has gone on to make more than 150 appearances for the club, scoring 59 goals.
  • He broke into the Man Utd first-team as a regular in early 2011, starting against Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final, but has earned a reputation as a ‘super-sub’.
  • The 26-year-old is nicknamed Chicharito, or the ‘Little Pea’, in honour of his father Javier Hernandez Gutierrez, also a Mexican international striker, who was nicknamed ‘The Pea’ because of his green eyes.
  • Despite only making his debut for Mexico in 2009 he is already the top third highest scorer in the country’s history with 36 goals, having scored at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
  • Hernandez earned his place in the record books on the last day of the 2012/2013 Premier League season when he scored the last-ever goal under the Sir Alex Ferguson-era in a 5-5 draw with West Bromwich Albion.