Czech stopper in Saints link

Southampton are reportedly set to rival Sevilla for the services of Besiktas' Czech Republic international defender Tomas Sivok.

Saints boss Nigel Adkins has been scouring the market for reinforcements to his squad following the side's promotion to the Premier League last season. And, it appears he has been alerted by the availability of 28-year-old, Sivok, whose agent Jiri Mueller has confirmed he is set to leave Turkish side Besiiktas this summer transfer window after failing to agree a contract extension. Spanish side Sevilla have been heavily linked with Sivok, who signed for Besiktas from Udinese for 4.7 million euros in 2008 and recently helped the Czechs to a quarter-final place at Euro 2012. And Mueller told Czech News Agency (CTK): "We have opened official talks with Sevilla and would like to have things sorted out as soon as possible. "We also have registered interest from a club in the Premier League and Besiktas have come back into the race as they want to keep Tomas."