Southampton may need to work hard to sign Werder Bremen midfielder Leo Bittencourt, with his previous comments indicating money may not be enough to tempt him.
That’s according to Deichstube, who report that Bittencourt has previously made it clear that money is not a motivating factor for him.
A report yesterday indicated that Southampton were targeting a move for the Werder Bremen midfielder and had made an attractive offer for him.
The belief was that they could tempt him into a move to the Premier League as he’d fallen out of favour this season and was on a lower wage packet than before after agreeing to lower his wages when he renewed in 2022.
The suggestion was Southampton could use their new Premier League finances to push something through.
DeichStube follow that up today and actually say it is ‘questionable’ whether Werder Bremen would want to let the player go even if he did fall out of favour slightly last season.
They even argue that he wasn’t as far out of the picture as has been suggested and still finished the season with 30 appearances under his belt.
The idea that the ‘big money’ in the Premier League might be tempting to him is also debatable as when he extended in 2022, he made it clear money was not important.
“It was an emotional decision, not a numerical one. I never put money first,” he is quoted as saying.
That would suggest Southampton will need more than money to tempt him to England if they do push forward with a potential move for him this summer.
