Leicester & Bournemouth Join Aston Villa in Chase for Southampton Star As Relegation Threatens

Leicester City, Bournemouth and Aston Villa are all said to be monitoring Southampton striker Charlie Austin, as relegation to the Championship looms for the Saints.

Southampton currently sit in 18th place in the Premier League table and the Mirror report that they face the prospect of losing their top goal scorer, if they fail to beat the drop this season.

Austin is the club's leading scorer this season with eight goals, despite missing three months of the season due to a hamstring tear.

However, five of those goals came in the seven games preceding his injury, while he struck 18 in the 2014/15 Premier League season while at QPR, proving Austin is capable of hitting good form in the Premier League.

Having only made his return from injury last weekend, it's not yet clear to see whether Austin can continue that run of form between now and the end of the season.

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If he does, the 28-year-old will not be short of suitors if the Saints go down. He is clearly respected within the game as two of his former managers are said to be chasing him.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is a long-term admirer of Austin, having signed him during his brief spell in charge of Burnley in 2011.

Meanwhile, Leicester manager Claude Puel worked with the striker during his spell as Southampton manager last season. The fact that both managers are keen to work with the striker again shows his good pedigree within football.

Aston Villa currently in the Championship playoffs with six games to play, and seem to be likely candidates for promotion back to the Premier League.