Gray targets Allback

Stuart Gray, the Southampton manager, has admitted that he is attempting to solve his side's chronic lack of goals by bringing in the Swedish striker Marcus Allback.

Gray is in talks with Allback's Dutch club Heerenveen as he prepares to spend some of the £8.1m generated by Dean Richards' move to Tottenham.

After their 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa last night, Gray knows his side is in desperate need of a lift but believes he is being hindered by clubs overpricing their players. "The problem is that everybody knows I now have the money and the prices become inflated," Gray said. "We need to bring players in to freshen it up, to give us a little bit of a lift.

"It's a priority and we're working very hard, both at home and abroad, to bring acquire new players. Hopefully, we'll have some news soon."

Responding to a reported interest in Arsenal's Matthew Upson, Gray said: "There are going to be names banded out for speculation as agents get involved."