Southampton are reportedly keen on Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien.
According to The Mirror, Southampton boss Claude Puel is keen to raid his former club Nice for midfield sensation Wylan Cyprien.
The Saints have a host of midfielders already, with Oriol Romeu, Jordy Clasie, Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg all competing for places in Puel’s side.
Southampton manager Claude Puel
Yet, with such a great emphasis on the midfield given that Puel plays either a 4-4-2 diamond or a 4-3-3, the French boss appears to be lining up a move for another midfielder in 2017.
The Mirror claim that Puel wants to bring Wylan Cyprien to St. Mary’s Stadium, which would involve the Southampton boss raiding Nice – the club he left for the Saints over the summer.
Cyprien, 21, only joined Nice from Lens over the summer, a month after Puel had joined up with Southampton, but his sensational form for the Ligue 1 leaders has seen him attract interest.
Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien (L)
The midfielder has hit six goals in just 22 appearances this season, including a stunning free kick in a 2-2 draw against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, whilst also adding two assists as well.
Cyprien is a classic box-to-box midfielder, possessing great passing, technical and set piece ability, whilst he’s also strong, fast and hard-working, getting up and down the pitch from the middle of the park.
Those attributes should make him ideal for the Premier League, but the report claims that Champions League giants Atletico Madrid are also keen on signing Cyprien too.
It’s added that Puel hopes to convince Cyprien to join the Saints by selling him on the switch from Nice to Southampton, having made the same move himself – but with Nice leading Ligue 1, it seems unlikely that they would let Cyprien leave in January, and Puel may have to wait until the summer to land his man.
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