Fulham are being linked with a move for Southampton full-back Matt Targett, a familiar face at Craven Cottage.

Targett helped the Whites earn promotion to the Premier League when he was on loan from Southampton during the second half of the season before last.

Fulham were keen on a deal to bring him to west London permanently last summer, but the clubs couldn’t agree a fee and he stayed at St Mary’s.

Targett went on to make 21 appearances for Southampton last season, with 16 of them coming in the Premier League.

Despite Fulham’s relegation, new boss Scott Parker is seemingly hopeful that 23-year-old Targett can be convinced to play Championship football again next season.

Fulham had an initial £5m bid rejected by Southampton last summer for Targett – a product of Southampton’s academy system – who competes with Ryan Bertrand for the left-back slot.

The south-coast side are deemed likely to resist anything less than a substantial bid from Fulham for their player. With 81 goals conceded in their 38 games, Fulham’s defence was the leakiest in the Premier League last season and they finished second from bottom.

Despite making some improvements after succeeding Claudio Ranieri and becoming the third manager in the dugout last season, Parker was unable to steer the Cottagers clear of relegation.

However, he did enough to convince the Fulham powerbrokers he is the right man to lead the club back in the Championship next term.