THE winger who could be Ronald Koeman’s next Saints signing has cost over €20 million in transfer fees in the past six years - and is no stranger to controversy.

Dutch international winger Eljero Elia, who Koeman today revealed is on the brink of joining Saints on loan, cost German club Hamburg €8.5 million in the summer of 2009, and after two years was sold to Italian giants Juventus for €9 million.

After only four Serie A appearances in 2011/12, though, the speedy Elia was on the move again – this time back to Germany and a €5.5 million switch to Werder Bremen.

At the time Alan Pardew’s Newcastle and Everton were reportedly interested in bringing Elia to England.

The player is not noted for his goalscoring exploits, scoring just four goals in 66 Bundesliga outings for Bremen since his debut in August 2012. And two of those goals came in one game.

Elia, however, has picked up a reputation in the German media as a player who finds it hard to escape off-field controversy.

During his first season with Hamburg he developed a severe infection due to a badly-applied tatto.

During his season with Juventus he said on twitter that he “hated” Lucio after the Inter defender collided with Dutch compatriot Maarten Stekelenburg in an incident that left the Roma goalkeeper unconscious. The tweet was later delated.

Bremen banned Elia for the final weeks of the 2012/13 season after he was caught speeding on a German motorway.

Shortly after, Elia crashed his $300,000 Mansory-edition Bentley Continental GT while driving in London.

Elia made his senior Dutch international debut in 2009, scoring the only goal against Scotland in his second start.

He later went on to play in most of his country’s games in the South Africa World Cup.