Italian giants Juventus are leading the race to sign Dani Osvaldo before tomorrow’s transfer deadline.

The Serie A side have confirmed they are interested in the striker, who is currently suspended by Saints after allegedly head butting teammate Jose Fonte.

There appears little chance at this point in time of Osvaldo being welcomed back into the Saints fold.

As such Saints could take the opportunity to shift on their record signing before the transfer window slams shut at 11pm tomorrow night.

The serious interest from Juventus is a boost to their chances, albeit it is further complicated by the Italian club needing to sell before they can fund a move.

Juve director general Beppe Marotta confirmed: “We like Osvaldo and other clubs like him too.

“He is an excellent player, but before buying anyone we need to sell.”

The potential Osvaldo move could therefore hinge on whether Mirko Vucinic moves on during this window.

There is widespread interest in the Juventus forward from clubs across Europe, including Arsenal.

Saints were hoping to have all their business for the window concluded by the close of play tonight with Mauricio Pochettino and his team set to travel to Fulham on Friday for their game this weekend.

That could be optimistic if another transfer needs to go through before Osvaldo can move, while negotiating a deal that involves an Italian international who joined for a fee that could rise to almost £15m is complicated.

Saints also wish to try and sign one player, who is expected to be a replacement for the Italian.

There are other European clubs interested in a move for Osvaldo, and it could be that if Saints cannot tie up a permanent deal with Juventus in time they try to loan him out, with a view to a permanent move in the summer.

That is the route that Danny Fox is expected take, with Nottingham Forest set to complete a loan deal for the left back with a permanent move agreed for the summer.