Sport Witness learned on Tuesday that claims Watford had made a €15m offer for Sofiane Boufal were true, but it wasn’t enough for Lille to sell their star player.
A source close to a potential deal informed Sport Witness that Lille were hanging on for an offer of €20m, and given there was further interest, there was no reason to accept or consider seriously the lower offer from Watford.
Well, with remarkably perfect timing, Southampton have submitted a €20m offer for Boufal. The claims are pretty widespread and France’s RMC say they’ve found out from a Southampton source (the growing French influence?) that the bid has been submitted in the past few hours.
It’s a pleasing amount for Lille, so talks can continue. The French club had originally planned a figure of around €25m for Boufal, but an injury toward the end of last season, which saw a recovery overlapping into this campaign, brought that down a little.
However, with the Southampton offer looking by far the most serious development in recent months, it may well encourage others to make their own intentions known.
