Sporting director confirms player to sign for Southampton shortly, asked for the transfer

Over the weekend, Italian reports of Wesley Hoedt moving to Southampton have sounded increasingly concrete.

Saturday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport said Southampton would be paying €15m plus a further €2m in bonuses to Lazio for the Dutch defender.

The transfer was described as ‘virtually completed’, and it was even explained that Hoedt said his goodbyes to teammates after training on Friday.

Despite those goodbyes, Hoedt was still included in Lazio’s match-day squad for the match against SPAL on Sunday, which is perhaps no surprise given 12 substitutes can be named.

Lazio drew 0-0, a disappointing result for the Rome club, and afterwards sporting director Igli Tare confirmed Hoedt is moving to Southampton.

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Quoted by Lazio News, Tare explained: “Hoedt asked to be sold because he wanted to be the absolute protagonist and here there was no guarantee of that. He will soon be transferred to Southampton, for him it’s been a positive experience here at Lazio.”

Tare’s comments about Hoedt wanting first team football are especially interesting if the same stance applies to Southampton.

With Hoedt being a central defender, it could be a hint that Southampton, regardless of what has been said in public, are preparing for a Virgil van Dijk exit before the close of the transfer window.