Southampton are reportedly hoping to sign Lille’s Sofiane Boufal.
Lille star Sofiane Boufal in action
According to France Football, Southampton have made a bid of €15m (£12.85m) for Lille playmaker Sofiane Boufal ahead of next week’s transfer deadline.
The Saints have snapped up the likes of Alex McCarthy, Jeremy Pied, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Nathan Redmond, but after losing 2-0 to Manchester United on Friday evening, new manager Claude Puel may yet look for more additions.
General view inside the stadium before the match – St Mary’s Southampton
Having arrived from Nice, Puel should be familiar with the top talents in French football – and Southampton appear to be targeting one of them in a bid to add more creativity to their side.
France Football report that Southampton are keen to land Lille playmaker Sofiane Boufal ahead of the transfer deadline, and have offered €15m (£12.85m) for the Moroccan international.
Picture Supplied by Action Images
Boufal, 23, joined Lille from Angers back in January 2015, and starred last season with 11 goals and four assists in Ligue 1 – exploits which have unsurprisingly triggered interest in Boufal’s signature.
Southampton may have signed Nathan Redmond as a replacement for Sadio Mane, but adding another attacking talent should be on Puel’s agenda, and he will have seen Boufal in action in Ligue 1 last season.
Southampton manager Claude Puel
It’s stated that Southampton hope to land Boufal before Wednesday’s transfer deadline, and have offered just short of £13m for the player – but Lille have slapped a €20m (£17m) asking price on Boufal’s head.
Lille have though rekindled their interest in Red Star’s Naim Sliti as a potential replacement for Boufal, meaning that Southampton may well have a great chance of landing the playmaker in the next week.
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