William Vainqueuer has been superb on loan at Marseille from Roma – and it appears that the Premier League may be his next step with Southampton keen.
Every cloud has a silver lining, so we’re told. Therefore, perhaps Southampton fans can take solace in knowing that their comparatively underwhelming Premier League campaign could make it a little easier to hang onto their star players.
As such, perhaps The Saints could go about their business with an element of peace this summer. Apart from talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk, the other key players at Claude Puel’s disposal have been unusually absent from the gossip columns in recent weeks.
Therefore, they could be in a strange position of improving their squad rather than needing to replace departed stars. And, according to L’Equipe, they are already putting their plans in place this summer with an early move for Marseille loanee William Vainqueur.
The 28-year-old, whose surname handily translates as ‘Winner’, has made a huge impression at the Stade Velodrome this season after moving from Roma in the summer. A truly all-round midfielder blessed with the ability to tackle, pass and dribble, Vainqueur has made 27 starts in Ligue 1, becoming one of the first names on Rudi Garcia’s team-sheet.
Loan star
And with only a year left on his contract at Roma, it appears that the Serie A side are willing to listen to offers for the former France Under-21 international.
L’Equipe claim that Southampton, as well as La Liga bargain hunters Villarreal, could aim to prevent Marseille from making his deal permanent.
Whether this means that The Saints have dropped their interest in another Ligue 1 dynamo, however, remains to be seen.
Nice to be wanted
RMC Sport claimed that Southampton would battle Everton for Nice’s rising star, Jean-Michael Seri, after a superb breakthrough season capped by six goals and nine assists for the surprise title challengers.
However, they add that Southampton would need to break their transfer record for the £33 million-rated midfielder, giving newly-moneyed Everton an advantage.
Vainqueur, then, could be a cheap yet astute alternative.
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