Southampton scout Piet Buter has confirmed the club’s interest in Heerenveen midfielder Joey Veerman while admitting to NH Nieuws the Premier League outfit were also keen on Ibrahim Sangare.
With the transfer window closing on Monday, Saints fans must be wondering whether their summer-long pursuit of a replacement for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is doomed to fail.
Speaking to VI on Monday, Sangare confirmed he could have moved to St Mary’s before sealing a £9 million move to PSV Eindhoven.
It seems work-permit problems scuppered any hopes the Ivory Coast international had of moving to England’s South Coast (Hampshire Live).
But, at long last, things are looking up again for Saints fans.
The Sun (30 September, page 51) reports Veerman is keen to become Southampton’s new number eight after catching the eye with an impressive start to the Eredivisie season.
“He is, of course, a very good football player,” says Buter, an experienced Dutch talent-spotter working on behalf of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
“And it would be foolish not to follow a 21-year-old boy with those qualities – we would be asleep. He is a player with great technique. He has very good insight into the game, a nice pass and takes all corners and free kicks. An interesting player.”
Buter confirmed Southampton expressed an interest in Sangare before one of the biggest clubs in Holland snatched the 21-year-old ball-winner from under their nose.
“We thought we had one with Ibrahim Sangare from Toulouse, but to our great surprise he chose PSV,” he said.
Veerman may be far from the finished article but, in many ways, an ever-improving 21-year-old feels like a classic Southampton signing – young, hungry, talented and with a huge re-sale value.
The Saints will need to pay more than £11 million to get him through the door.
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