Player had last minute panic over joining Southampton – Nearly snubbed Saints

Forward Kamaldeen Sulemana had a last minute panic over his move to Southampton, nearly turning down the Saints at the end of the transfer window.

That’s according to L’Equipe, who say the deadline day signing nearly never happened for Southampton.

They explain that Rennes made a tidy profit on Sulemana, having invested €15m in August 2021 and sold him for €25m excluding bonuses.

Their idea was not to sell him so quickly but the offer from Southampton was too good to resist and they sanctioned it.

A deal very nearly never happened, though, as with seven minutes to go until the end of the transfer window, he was ‘no longer too sure’ that he wanted to leave.

He eventually ‘took the plunge’ and accepted the move to Southampton, leading Rennes to spend €6.5m on a replacement in the form of Moroccan striker Ibrahim Salah.

Salah is someone that the French club had been looking at for some time as they continue to focus on youth to be developed and potentially moved on, as they did with Sulemana.

He’s now a Southampton player, although a last-minute wobble at the end of the window meant he nearly ended up staying where he was.