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Boufal's Agent Claims His Client Could Have Gone To Chelsea, PSG, Arsenal Or Spurs
Friday, 9th Sep 2016 10:33

The agent of Saints new signing Sofiane Boufal has been speaking in France of how his client could have gone to a number of top European clubs before choosing Southampton.

According to Boufal’s agent, Yvan Le Mee, the Moroccan International could have been signed by a number of clubs this summer, speaking to the French media Mee said.

“We especially talked with PSG. If Laurent Blanc had stayed at PSG, then he could have certainly stayed (in France).

“We also had Arsenal when they left the Mahrez path… Finally they reconnected, but it didn’t happen. We had Tottenham and Chelsea, but Conte wasn’t boiling.”

Saints fans will be pleased to hear that their new signing is so highly regarded by so many clubs but although it is good to hear that Boufal was in demand, on the other hand this is his agent speaking who will be keen to reassure the player that he got him the best deal available, not to mention that he would want to keep a high profile for his client.

But we will all hopefully soon find out if Boufal is going to live up to the hype and of course the £16 million or so we paid to make hm the club's biggest signing in terms of transfer fee.

Photo: Action Images



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perazi added 10:38 - Sep 9
I feel a bit sorry for the lad - the expectation on him when he is fit to make an immediate impact is going to be huge. As for the potential for him to be better than Mane!!! Behave, let's just hope he has the potential to be around a similar level to Mane - that would help our threadbare attacking force no end.
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bstokesaint added 13:06 - Sep 9
Well said Perazi. It reminds me a bit of the Clasie situation. Everyone was really keen for him to sign for us, many without knowing much about him, and then after just a few games fans were on his case and blaming much of the team's slow progress on signings such as himself. I really hope Boufal is in the same class as Payet, but regardless there is much to be worked on with the rest of our team and he single-handedly won't be the difference between us have a good or poor season.
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pintsizedsaint added 13:25 - Sep 9
It’s hardly a ‘threadbare attacking force’ Perazi!

I mentioned Boufal’s circumstances in a comment on here when he was linked to the club. At the time, piecing together the more reliable articles on this, it seemed that SFC had made their interest in Boufal known at the start of the summer. Two things blocked progress: Lille wanted £20 million at least and Boufal allegedly had his heart set on moving to a ‘top club’.

Now, whilst we all know SFC is a top club(!), Boufal and his agents (who are his family – and a lot of them are involved too) had their eyes on either a top European team or one of the big clubs in England. Whilst I am sure that the promise of champions league football, winning trophies etc. etc. where a factor in this, I also suspect ‘huge wage increase’ and ‘huge commission fee’ was also buzz words for Boufal and his entourage…

Put simply, during the summer SFC were down the pecking order for Boufal. I don’t mean that negatively – but rather that that is the reality of where we are as a football club. In fact, it’s a positive: 3 years ago SFC wouldn’t have even been on Boufal’s pecking order at all!

If the articles are to be believed, there was a lot of interest from some of the op English Clubs (don’t know about PSG) and Arsenal and Spurs were linked (and now it seems Chelsea were too). However, there was reluctance for a number of reasons. First was price – Lille were not budging on £20m+ and believed there would be a bidding war. All clubs (including Saints) weren’t having that.

Second, there was a question mark over Boufal’s temperament. Apparently during his ‘breakthrough’ season he had been letting it get to his head – resulting in a number of on-and-off field spats with team mates and opposition players. Third (and wrapping it all up), whilst Boufal clearly has quality, he’s not fully established and the question of ‘would he hit the ground running’ would have crossed minds.

As the window drew to a close, the prospect of that ‘top club’ move evaporated, moving SFC to the top and allowing us to bargain with Lille (whose tactic had failed and, with Boufal also being injured, had an increasingly weaker hand).

I do suspect Boufal was advised that going to SFC would be a great ‘development’ for him: i.e. that if he does well he will catch the eye of a bigger EPL club and get his move – like the man he is replacing. Boufal signs and talks about his ‘exictment’ and how this is a great ‘development’ opportunity for him. Arsenal, Spurs and the others are happy because they can watch him closely and see if he assimilates well into the EPL. SFC are ecastic because they have landed a top player for less than asking price who can improve our performance and – if he does succeed – we will be able to make a huge profit and re-invest.

Again, I am NOT being negative, but realistic. As far as I am concerned, if we get the best out of Boufal in the next 2 seasons then he’s done his job and we will be firmly establishing ourselves in the top 6. That brings SFC to another ‘status’, meaning we will attract even bigger names (and be higher up that pecking order right at the start).
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pintsizedsaint added 17:12 - Sep 9
UPDATE

having read more of Boufal's Agent's article, he also said this:

"He's coming back from injury, you're going to the Premier League, so you go to a club where you'll play," he added. "To a club that's used to bringing through young players [Southampton] and then eventually you go to those big clubs. They have sold 14 players to Liverpool, United and Chelsea."

Enough said!! I think we just take this signing as what it is - and hope that SFC get what they want out of it too.
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SanMarco added 17:44 - Sep 9
Who did we sell to Chelsea?
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DPeps added 19:06 - Sep 9
SanMarco - who knows? Wayne Bridge???
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dirk_doone added 20:50 - Sep 9
He still can, although our preferred buyer is Liverpool.
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SanMarco added 23:07 - Sep 9
This guy has certainly not hidden his view of us as a 'stepping stone' - the one consolation for us if he is rubbish is that he'll end up falling in the water (stepping stone joke)...
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dirk_doone added 11:30 - Sep 10
The club's policy of selling players 2 years after they arrive, as long as they are successful, is clear for all new players and their agents to see.
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