Southampton can sign Jorge de Frutos for a club-record £25 million this summer thanks to a release clause in the Levante winger’s contract, as reported by AS.
When we tell you to imagine a player tailor-made for a Ralph Hasenhuttl team, what does your brain conjure up?
A jet-heeled, high-octane attacker perhaps? A hard-working forward blessed with speed, strength and skill, perfectly suited for the Saints boss’ counter-attacking approach?
Like Danny Ings and Theo Walcott, De Frutos has those attributes in droves.
Only Iago Aspas and Marcos Llorente have tallied more assists than the 24-year-old in his breakthrough La Liga season (seven), with De Frutos emerging as the unexpected star of an always-exciting Levante outfit.
He has scored three goals himself, including one from the halfway line against leaders Atletico Madrid.
According to The Mirror (28 February, page 67), Southampton have held talks with the winger’s agent regarding a deal that would see a player sold by Real Madrid for just £4 million move to England in the summer.
Levante would be powerless to prevent De Frutos’ departure should the Saints trigger the £25 million release clause in his contract. However, if the South Coast side aren’t keen to make him their record signing, they may be in luck.
AS claims Levante must raise £15 million before June to balance the books. De Frutos, arguably the Castellon club’s most sellable asset, may be available for a much lower fee.
Interestingly, Real Madrid are apparently weighing up a move of their own, one that would see De Frutos replace the out-of-contract Lucas Vazquez at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Vazquez returned for a second spell in the Spanish capital during the Rafa Benitez era after an impressive season at Espanyol. De Frutos, then, would arrive at Real under similar circumstances.
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