With the rumour mill chock block with Mohammed Elyounoussi speculation as the European transfer window edges towards a close, fellow Southampton attacker Sofiane Boufal is back in the news this week and it appears former loan side Celta Vigo are still keen on seeing him return.
Report Contradicts Claims That Southampton Have Agreed £8.5m Sale
The last I heard about Boufal was that French side Nice were sniffing around and were said to be close to doing a deal, but nothing ever came of that. Spanish outlet AS (via Sport Witness) have now claimed that Celta are back in the hunt for him and they quote their Director of Football, Felipe Minambres, as admitted that Southampton initially blocked a return, but he was hopeful that our standpoint had now changed.
“Southampton initially closed the doors for Boufal’s return, but let’s see now. He is a player that has different characteristics than what we have.”
With the 25-year-old scoring three times and providing three assists in his 35 league runouts for them in 2018/19, it should certainly be an option even though there are those fans who are hopeful he’ll get a second chance. The report seems to suggest it would only be another loan spell though, rather than a permanent deal, although AS didn’t clarify either. That would make sense to me if Minambres is correct that we blocked their initial interest, it was because we were hoping to get a permanent deal instead.
With the European window closing at the end of the month, a loan becomes an option now.
Many will wonder about the report though as Boufal featured in our opener against Burnley, but was dropped for the Liverpool clash, so did Hasenhuttl feel he didn’t seize his chance?
Previous Article:
Southampton Pay The Price For Burnley Loss As Hasenhuttl Reveals “Intense Week” Of Training
