Saints expect to conclude the club record signing of Guido Carrillo in the next 24 hours.

The Argentinian striker is expected to sign for from Monaco for £19.2m, with the club putting the finish touches to the deal.

Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino confirmed: “We are working really hard but still anything is done. We are pushing harder and we are working really hard to try to move forward.

“The negotiation we have to wait until the end and hopefully we can have good news by tomorrow.

“Still nothing has happened.”

He added: “We are with confidence because everybody has been working really well and the player I think he wants to come and be part of our squad but the most important part of the negotiations still are there and we have to continue working.”

As reported by the Daily Echo, Carrillo is unlikely to be ready to feature in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Watford, but should be able to take on Brighton next week.

Shane Long will be available to face the Hornets after recovering from flu, while Maya Yoshida is also available after a hamstring injury.