Southampton look to be stepping up their efforts to sign a new right-back ahead of a return to the Premier League next season.
Kyle Walker-Peters was one of Southampton‘s standout performers last season in the right-back role but Russell Martin could lose the 27-year-old amid interest from West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Losing Walker-Peters would be a real blow but – given he is about to enter the final year of his Southampton contract – the club could use the England international as a makeweight to sign Flynn Downes from West Ham.
The Saints appear to be preparing for a future without Walker-Peters, with a £5 million bid for Bournemouth right-back Max Aarons rejected this week.
Southampton are likely to return to Bournemouth with another offer, but should a move for Aarons not materialise here are three EFL right-backs the club could consider.
Perry Ng could replicate Kyle Walker-Peters goal threat
The first option is 28-year-old Cardiff City full-back Perry Ng.
Ng was impressive in a poor Cardiff campaign last season, scoring six goals and providing four assists in the Championship.
Solid defensively, Ng likes to surge forward and his set-piece ability makes him a real asset.
He may not be the same level as Walker-Peters, but it is unlikely Southampton will be able to bring in a right-back of the same calibre as the former Tottenham Hotspur defender.
In Ng, Southampton would be signing an experienced player who all the evidence would suggest is ready for the step up to the Premier League.
Southampton could turn to ‘unbelievable’ Trai Hume
Southampton are reportedly interested in moves for Sunderland duo Jobe Bellingham and Anthony Patterson, but could eye up a move for another of their players in Trai Hume.
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The 22-year-old is fresh off the back of an impressive campaign for the Black Cats, which has seen him earn admiring glances from the likes of Aston Villa, Bournemouth and even Napoli.
Hume won Northern Ireland’s Player of the Year award in 2023 and then-interim Sunderland manager Mike Dodds was full of praise for the full-back following the news.
Dodds said: “If he carries on the path he is going to, Trai is going to the Premier League. That’s how good I think he is.
“When you think of full-backs in this league, Trai would definitely be one of the best if not the best full-backs in the league and I don’t think there will be many arguments over that.
“To come from Linfield to where he is now, he has been an unbelievable find for the football club and he has a big future in the game.”
Whilst they will face a lot of competition for Hume’s signature, he could be the player to make fans soon forget all about Walker-Peters.
Bali Mumba a wildcard choice to replace Walker-Peters
The third and final EFL right-back Southampton could consider is Plymouth Argyle’s Bali Mumba.
Plymouth narrowly escaped relegation to League One last season and Wayne Rooney has now been appointed the new manager of the club.
Despite being the same age as Hume, 22, Mumba is a lot more raw than the Sunderland man. In some ways that makes him very exciting going forward, but he can be left a little suspect defensively at times.
It is for that reason that the former Norwich City man actually played most of his football on the left wing for Plymouth last season.
However, Southampton could go some way to replacing Walker-Peters’ dribbling ability and creativity in the final third with a move for Mumba this summer in the hope he can improve from a defensive perspective.