Aurelien Chedjou claims he had an offer from Southampton in January.
Galatasaray defender Aurelien Chedjou (L)
Galatasaray defender Aurelien Chedjou has been quoted by Eurosport as saying that he had an offer to join Southampton in January – but the Turkish side refused to let him go.
Chedjou, 31, joined Galatasaray from Lille in 2013, and he has racked up more than 100 appearances for the club, winning one league title and three Turkish cups.
With 40 caps for Cameroon, Chedjou is an experienced centre back who spent the majority of his career in France before joining Galatasaray – but he has started just 13 league games this season in a frustrating campaign.
Chedjou is out of contract this summer and looks set to move elsewhere on a free transfer, but the defender has now explained how he could have made a summer move to England.
As quoted by Eurosport, Chedjou claims that he had offers to join Southampton and Swansea City in January, but Galatasaray blocked any move despite him being so close to the end of his contract.
Swansea had been leaking goals in the run-up to the January transfer window, but a move to Southampton would have been particularly interesting.
Southampton manager Claude Puel
The Saints saw Jose Fonte leave the club to join West Ham United in January, and an injury to Virgil van Dijk forced the club into the free agent market in order to land Uruguayan Martin Caceres.
Chedjou would have not only given Southampton a veteran presence at the back, but also handed the defender a reunion with manager Claude Puel, who coached Chedjou at Lille.
With Chedjou available for free this summer and Southampton set to target a defender once Caceres’ short-term deal expires, the 31-year-old could be back on Puel’s wish list at the end of the season.
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