Southampton sign Sofiane Boufal from Lille for club-record fee
Southampton have confirmed the signing of Lille winger Sofiane Boufal from Lille for a £16m.
The Saints agreed a fee last week for the Lille forward, which it is thought to have topped the £15m they paid for Dani Osvaldo in October 2013. Boufal passed a medical with the club on Monday.
After signing a five-year contract, the 22-year-old Moroccan international said: “I’m very happy and really excited to play in St Mary’s Stadium in front of the fans.
“Southampton showed big interest in signing me, and I can see that this club is the best place for me to continue my progression as a footballer.
#SaintsFC is delighted to announce the signing of Sofiane Boufal on a five-year contract! 😇 #SaintSofiane https://t.co/mhg9L1sXWL
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 29, 2016
“I hope I can achieve many great things with Southampton. It is a very good club, with excellent facilities, and I feel it is the perfect environment to continue my development.”
Saints’ executive director of football, Les Reed, added: “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Sofiane to Southampton Football Club.
“He has shown his undoubted qualities in France over the past few seasons, and we are extremely confident he will successfully adapt to life in the Premier League.
“Sofiane is a player we have watched develop closely over the last few years, and we’re thrilled to have him join the club ahead of what promises to be a very exciting season, with Europa League football on the horizon.
“His excellent campaign with Lille last season meant a number of clubs were pursuing him to secure his services, but we’re delighted that Sofiane sees Southampton as the best place for him to continue his development.
“Saints fans may have to wait for a few weeks yet to see him demonstrate his skills, as Sofiane had a delayed start to his pre-season training and will be working very hard with our fitness staff to get up to full match fitness.
“At just 22 years of age, he will undoubtedly continue to improve as a player, and we’re very pleased that he will be able to make that progression with us here at Southampton.”
Boufal scored 11 goals and set up five more last season before his season ended prematurely in May because of a knee injury.
Boufal impressed for Lille last season by scoring 11 times and adding five assists, but he picked up a knee injury in May and is not expected to be able to return to action until next month.
Southampton have lost forwards Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle over the summer, although they managed to bring in Nathan Redmond from Norwich.
