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Fotospor report Fenerbahce were interested in signing Sofiane Boufal from Southampton before the player joined Celta Vigo on loan in the summer.

Boufal has been strongly linked with a move to Turkey and Fenerbahce’s local rivals Besiktas were also said to be interested in signing the Southampton playmaker.

According to the Turkish website, Boufal decided to join Celta Vigo instead of the Istanbul side and subsequently Fenerbahce then went on to loan Yassine Benzia from Lille.

The former Lille player has struggled to make an impact since arriving at St. Mary’s despite the high expectations the Premier League club had for the player.

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Southampton paid Lille €18.7m for Boufal over two years ago but the 24 year old has only managed to score 4 goals for the club in 59 appearances.

This season Boufal has also been unable to hold down a regular place in Celta Vigo’s first eleven, although he has had injury issues, and the Moroccan winger has scored just 2 goals for the Spanish side.