Les Reed has given an honest assessment of Nathaniel Clyne’s transfer to Liverpool. Southampton’s director of football admitted that the Saints were powerless to resists our advances and were eventually happy to sell.
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As BBC Sport confirms, Clyne completed a deal worth around £12.5m on Wednesday, becoming our sixth summer signing. The full-back spent three years with the Saints, helping them fully establish themselves as a Premier League club and qualify for Europe at the end of last season.
However, Reed has told the Liverpool Echo that they were fully expecting the deal to take place this summer, with Clyne reportedly having turned down a new deal at the club earlier this year (via the Daily Express).
“With Nathaniel’s contract entering its final year, it was important that his future was resolved this summer,” Reed said.
Southampton moved quickly to seal a deal for a like for like replacement – Sporting Lisbon’s Cedric Soares – and once that deal was secured it was only going to be a matter of time before Clyne pulled on the Liverpool red for the first time.
“With Cedric Soares now in place and it becoming clear that Nathaniel did not wish to extend his deal, we were keen to swiftly move on early in our pre-season schedule,” he added.
“We have now been able to conclude our negotiations with Liverpool, and we thank Nathaniel for his efforts during the past three seasons.”
Clyne played 104 times for Southampton in all competitions during his time at the club, scoring five times, including one against us on the opening day of last season.