Southampton are confident of completing the signing of the former Barcelona and Juventus defender Martín Cáceres, currently a free agent, in the next few days.

The 29-year-old has had a medical in Southampton and the move is subject to the Uruguay international gaining a work permit. Cáceres, who has 68 caps, left Juventus in June.

He is expected to agree a short-term deal until the end of the season that would bolster Southampton’s defensive options before the EFL Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley on 26 February. Virgil van Dijk, the Saints captain, has an ankle injury and could be out until April, while the £8m sale of José Fonte to West Ham United has left the manager, Claude Puel, short in defence.

Maya Yoshida and the England Under-21 defender Jack Stephens were paired at the back for Southampton’s 3-1 defeat against West Ham on Saturday. Southampton failed to replace Fonte in the January transfer window and then pulled out of a deal to sign the Spartak Moscow defender Serdar Tasci.

Cáceres’s last match was 12 months ago and although short of match fitness the defender boasts a wealth of experience, winning domestic titles in Italy and Spain.

The defender, who recently had a trial at Milan, was of interest to Crystal Palace but they opted to move for Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho instead.