Fabrizio Romano reports a deal is ‘nearly complete’ for the first summer sale at Southampton

Southampton are expected to make their first sale of the summer, according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano.

Manager Russell Martin will want to focus on the players he can bring in to enhance his team ahead of their return to the Premier League, but he will also understand that sales are required to balance the budget.

Southampton have had a busy start in their effort to upgrade their squad for next season, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ loan deal made permanent and Adam Lallana joining on a free transfer.

Ryan Fraser and Saman Ghoddos, two experienced players, are also expected to join St Mary’s, but with seven senior players leaving the club on loan last season, there is deadwood that needs to be sold.

Now, it appears that one of those loan players is poised to make a permanent transfer away from Southampton for a low cost.

Southampton are likely to trade Romain Perraud to Real Betis

Southampton signed Romain Perraud for £11 million in 2021, and Ralph Hasenhuttl is an admirer of the French fullback.

However, it was evident early in Martin’s first preseason last summer that Perraud would not be a part of the new era following Premier League relegation.

The 26-year-old instead spent last season on loan at French club Nice, where he struggled to make an impact.

After starting only two league games in 2023/24, Perraud’s loan club chose not to exercise their option to sign the left-back permanently this summer.

Instead, Perraud appears to be heading to Spain, with Fabrizio Romano revealing on ‘X’ that a deal is close that will see the dynamic left-back join Real Betis for substantially less than Southampton spent three years ago.

According to Romano, Real Betis will spend little more than €3 million to get Romain Perraud from Southampton as their new full-back.

Deal almost completed, signing incoming.’

🟢⚪️ Real Betis will invest bit more than €3m to sign Romain Perraud as new fullback from Southampton.

Deal almost completed, signing incoming. pic.twitter.com/YBim0Eg5xm

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 18, 2024

Ralph Hasenhuttl is full of praise for Perraud in Southampton

Perraud was well-liked by Southampton fans, with many believing he should have stayed at the club last summer.

Martin instead decided to trust Ryan Manning to carry out his philosophy at left-back and approved Perraud’s departure.

However, Hasenhuttl signed the French defender, and the Austrian coach was full of praise for Perraud shortly after signing him, telling Hampshire Live: “He [Perraud] has been absolutely fantastic. It is not easy and he has also shown a few very good games,”

“It is a luxury problem [having options at full-back]. It is not a problem for me, the problem was last season with not having the alternatives for these positions.

“But Romain is still a young player who will play a lot of games for us. He has shown in the games he has played that he is a different option with the left-footed player on the left side and it gives you other opportunities. He has had some very good games so far and I am very happy to have him.”

Perhaps things might have turned out differently for Perraud if Hasenhuttl had stayed, but Southampton will now send him to Betis, where he hopes to become a regular once more.

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