The sale of OGC Nice to Sir Jim Ratcliffe has got Ligue 1 all excited as investment could be on the way in the south of France, as the club have been largely unable to navigate the transfer market freely up until very recently.
With everything now approved, movement is widely expected in the next couple of days, and that could include a move for Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal.
The Morocco international has featured for just 17 minutes this season in a cameo appearance against Burnley, and it seems Ralph Hasenhüttl has no particular plans for him going forward.
That means an exit could suit all, and L’Equipe explain Nice have been ‘thinking’ over the past few hours about putting an offer forward for Boufal’s services.
Talks had already taken place back in mid-July before the change of ownership put any major dealings on hold, but it’s explained the 25-year-old was already happy to move back to Ligue 1 back then, and that hasn’t changed.
A report from Foot Mercato on Wednesday claimed there was a ‘real desire’ from Boufal to return to France, meaning there shouldn’t be too many problems when it comes to personal terms.
And with L’Equipe claiming that Southampton only want €10m for their forward, that part of the deal could be relatively easy to sort out too.
It all seems too simple, doesn’t it?
