Making his first cameo of the season for Southampton in the season opener against Burnley when he came on with 17 minutes left, Sofiane Boufal looked like he could be in Ralph Hasenhüttl’s plans going forward.
However, the Austrian then left the Morocco international out of his squad altogether to face Liverpool the following week, leading to a question mark being placed once again on the forward’s future at St Mary’s.
Rumours sending him to Celta Vigo reemerged recently after the La Liga side’s director of football commented on Boufal’s situation, but another club in Europe are also still after him: OGC Nice.
With their sale to Sir Jim Ratcliffe now complete, the Ligue 1 side are expected to be very active in the coming days on the transfer market, and the 25-year-old is still on their list.
This is according to Foot Mercato journalist Sébastien Denis, who explains ‘contact is still active’ between the player and the Ligue 1 side, and despite his appearance for Southampton against Burnley, ‘there is a real desire to return to France’ where he first made a name for himself at Angers and then Lille.
Boufal spent last season on loan at Celta Vigo where he made 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and assisting teammates four times.
Info : Contact toujours actif entre Sofiane Boufal et Nice. La vente du club étant désormais calée cela pourrait faire accélérer le dossier. Du côté du joueur qui a joué quelques mn en PL avec Southampton, il y a une vraie envie de revenir en France. pic.twitter.com/ZiKsSUGtFM
— Sébastien Denis (@sebnonda) August 21, 2019
