A £27,000 per week Southampton talent who former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl brought to the club is set to leave St Mary's in the summer transfer window, according to a new update.
Big summer ahead at Southampton
It has been a largely positive season for Saints, even though they have ended up missing out on automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League. There is still the chance to go up via the playoffs, but whatever happens, Russell Martin will be eyeing new signings this summer.
Flynn Downes has been an impressive performer on loan from West Ham, and it looks as though the south coast club are looking to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season. The midfielder has scored and assisted twice apiece in the league across 32 appearances in 2023/24, as well as enjoying an incredible 93.4% completion rate.
Rangers attacker Kemar Roofe has also been linked with a move to St Mary's Stadium in the summer, with the Englishman set to leave Ibrox on a free transfer when his contract expires soon. The 31-year-could be an experienced head, adding depth to the squad, and he has lots of experience in English football, making 110 appearances in the Championship.
There could also be some Southampton players who move on, especially if promotion to the top flight isn't sealed in the coming weeks, with defender Armel Bella-Kotchap one such figure. He has spent this season on loan at PSV Eindoven, but is now set depart Saints permanently in the near future.
Southampton star to leave in permanent deal
Taking to X on Tuesday, journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed that Bella-Kotchap is increasingly "likely" to leave Southampton for good at the end of the current campaign, with a host of clubs interested across Europe.
"Armel Bella-Kotchap, likely to leave Southampton at the end of the season with several clubs interested in him from Germany, Italy and England. Understand price tag will be around €20m."
In truth, there does seem to be a certain inevitability about Bella-Kotchap departing Southampton, unless there is a sudden change in the situation. Reaching the Premier League feels like the only chance of that happening, but it still feels more likely that he will move on.
The £27,000-a-week ace is contracted to Southampton until 2026, so there is no great need to sell him at all, but his head could be turned by a move elsewhere. He is a player who former Saints manager Hasenhuttl has raved about in the past, saying after signing him: "He’s a one-on-one monster.
"Very strong in one-on-one situations and he’s very fast. You can defend well with him. He plays good passes into the final third, even over longer distances. [But] his heading game can be improved [when attacking corners]."
Southampton were rinsed by a player who earned 2x Walker-Peters’ wage
This still goes down as a major transfer blunder on Southampton’s part.
ByKelan SarsonApr 30, 2024
Should Bella-Kotchap move on, the one plus point is that Southampton look likely to receive around €20m (£17m) for his services, with those funds needing to be spent on not only signing a strong replacement, but also adding reinforcements to other areas of the pitch, hopefully ahead of their Premier League return.
