SAINTS’ record signing Guido Carrillo is on the verge of exiting St Mary’s on loan after being made surplus to requirements.

The £19.2m striker only arrived at Saints in January, when he was brought in to help Argentine compatriot Mauricio Pellegrino, who he previously worked with at Estudiantes.

Then Saints boss Pellegrino entrusted the 27-year-old with finding desperately-needed goals to turn around an increasingly bad situation in the Premier League.

However, Carrillo, who joined from French side Monaco, failed to score in any of his eight games under Pellegrino and, subsequently, the under-pressure manager was sacked after one win in 17 league matches.

Carrillo started Mark Hughes’ first game in charge, the 2-0 FA Cup win at Wigan, but never started a Premier League game under the now permanent Saints boss, who replaced Pellegrino in mid-March.

He played just nine league minutes under Hughes, and it quickly became apparent Sparky felt there were better options in the squad, with Charlie Austin, Manolo Gabbiadini and Shane Long ahead of Carrillo in the pecking order.

In the end, Carrillo rarely featured in the matchday squad.

Now, the Argentine is set to depart on loan and is likely to be reunited with Pellegrino at his new club Leganes in the Spanish top-flight.

Carrillo was left out of the squad for Saints’ two-week training camp in China, along with Sofiane Boufal, and it is understood both are not in Hughes’ plans.

The fact so much was spent on Carrillo will be a concern to the club, but they know, considering his situation, the best chance of eventually recouping some of the money will be to allow him to go out on loan.

Carrillo is tied to Saints for another three years, having signed a three-and-a-half year contract in January.

He was signed as Saints backed Pellegrino in a difficult period and during a troubled January transfer window, which saw the club struggle to bring in the targets they wanted, with deals for Theo Walcott and Quincy Promes falling through.

Boufal is another who missed out on the two-week tour of China, where Saints take on Schalke in their first pre-season game tomorrow, and is likely to exit this summer.

The Moroccan ended up training with the club’s under-23s last season, having had an alleged bust-up with Hughes after refusing to warm-up during a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea at St Mary’s in April.

The former Lille man, who signed for Saints for a then record £16m in 2016, will undoubtedly still have his suitors in France after impressing there before coming to the South Coast.