The Saints ace looked close to leaving St Mary’s Stadium over the summer but he has won back his first-team place under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Southampton midfielder Sofiane Boufal has admitted that he never wanted to leave St Mary’s Stadium and that the messages of support from fans played a key role in him wanting to stay (Daily Echo).
In the summer of 2016, Southampton broke their transfer record to sign the 26-year-old winger from French side Lille for £16million (BBC Sport) and to date, he has made 66 appearances for the Saints, including seven this season in all competitions (Transfermarkt).
When Boufal was shipped out on loan to Celta Vigo by former manager Mark Hughes, it looked as though his time on the south coast was set to come to an end, and there were rumours linking him with a move to France in the summer from the likes of El Desmarque, who had linked the player with Marseille.
However, nothing came of the reports and Boufal has been fully reintegrated into the Southampton first-team setup by Ralph Hasenhuttl, and speaking to the Daily Echo, he praised the Saints fans for showing him faith and reiterated that he wants to stay at the club for the foreseeable future, progressing and only leaving through a “big door”.
“[Of course] I am very happy to be here,” the Morocco international told the newspaper. “My mindset was to always stay here. I spoke with the club during the summer and told them that I didn’t want to move and that I wanted to stay here. I am very motivated and happy to come back. I want to progress at this club and stay here. I want to leave the club through a big door and not a small door.
“I always have a good relationship with the fans and I am very happy about that. I saw a lot of messages about me and the new manager and that also made me want to stay because the fans trusted me.”
Boufal, currently valued by Transfermarkt at £10.8million, is contracted to Southampton until the summer of 2021.
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