£7 million Southampton defender Lyanco is considering a return to Brazil in 2023 after falling down the pecking order at the Premier League strugglers, South American football reporter Jorge Nicola says on his YouTube channel.
On paper at least, a tally of nine appearances so far in 2022/23 hardly paints the picture of a man with no future at St Mary’s. Look a little closer, however, and you’ll see that Lyanco has only started two of those nine games in his favoured centre-half position.
And they both came against lower league opposition (Cambridge United and Sheffield Wednesday) in the EFL Cup.
Lyanco, a £7 million signing from Serie A outfit Torino in the summer of 2021, has been utilised mostly as a late substitute or as a stand-in right-back due to the injury-enforced absences of Kyle Walker-Peters and Tino Livramento.
As such, it should perhaps come as no surprise that the 25-year-old is now weighing up his future on the South Coast.
Will Lyanco leave Nathan Jones’ Southampton?
“The information I wanted to share with you is that Lyanco is considering returning to Brazil in 2023. He understands that he can be better used here (in Brazil),” Nicola explains.
“Two clubs in Rio have already contacted with representative. Botafogo and Vasco da Gama are closely monitoring this situation.
“You cant say that it’s an impossible negotiation (for Botafogo or Vasco), or an extremely expensive one for a 25-year-old player with a lot of experience abroad, and a European passport.”
Lyanco has a contract until 2025 at Southampton. Given that he is probably the club’s fourth-choice centre half these days, however, offers may well be considered. As long as Botafogo or Vasco da Gama are willing to part with a seven-figure sum, of course.
Nathan Jones, during his debut in the Southampton dugout, chose Mohammed Salisu, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Duje Caleta-Car ahead of Lyanco during Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to a Darwin Nunez-inspired Liverpool side.
“I thought we were really passive in the first half,” the former Luton boss said after that Anfield defeat. “We conceded a really poor goal from a set play where we need to be better.
“We did score with a nice set-play with a wonderful delivery. But, then, I felt we were really passive. I felt we were just waiting for the inevitable to happen and that’s not what teams I have do.
“In the second half, I was really proud of how they reacted. Really proud of the performance and how they went about it. Young players, game changers that we brought on. And, to be fair, Allison has made three absolutely wonderful saves to deny us. That’s the story of the game.”
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