Southampton showed interest in signing Juventus’ Koni De Winter for more than a year.
In July 2021, reports from Belgium stated the Saints were looking at signing the defender and the Serie A side were demanding €5m. The Premier League club were again named as his contender earlier in the current window.
Back in June, Southampton were reportedly told they must act fast if they wish to secure the 20-year-old’s services. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to convince those involved and the player ended up joining Empoli on a season-long loan deal last month.
The Belgium U21 international’s agent, Fabrizio Lioi, has given an interview to Tutto Juve. With Ralph Hassenhüttl’s side, Club Brugge and Ajax among De Winter’s foreign suitors, the representative was quizzed asked how Empoli managed to take his client on loan.
“When we agreed on his goals with Juve, the foreign tracks went out. The easiest way to convince Allegri is to play in Serie A, in this way Koni can gain a lot of experience in a difficult league like this,” he said.
Lioi also stressed the player’s foreign suitors, like Southampton, wanted a purchase option as a part of the deal. This is what gave Empoli an edge over others in signing De Winter on a dry loan transfer.
“Empoli have accepted the dry loan and want to improve him, it is an important place without absurd pressures. We thank the director Accardi, the coach Zanetti and all those who strongly wanted him in the blue,” the agent added.
“There were a lot of teams on Koni, most of them wanted to agree with Juventus on a purchase option. Juve, on the other hand, never had any intention of losing him.
“This was a great show of confidence in the team, together we have identified the right path to follow, on the other hand he has always declared his desire to become a symbol of the Juventus club. For this reason, we have renewed [at Juve].”
