Our initial £10m offer was turned down, but it now seems as though we’ll meet Southampton’s £15m valuation for their England international Nathaniel Clyne.
Last summer, we pillaged the south coast club for Clyne’s former team-mates Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert – and according to the Metro – we’re heading back their this time around as well.
Southampton have claimed they’ll accept nothing less than £15m, and instead of getting drawn into tense, difficult negotiations, it appears that we might just give them what they’re asking for to secure our right-back for the new season, says the report.
With Glen Johnson departing on a free, Javier Manquillo below first-team standard and Jon Flanagan out injured for the foreseeable future, reinforcements in this position are essential this summer.
Southampton have signed Cedric Soares as Clyne’s replacement which will hopefully help us finalise the deal without too many complications.
At 24-years-old, Clyne has his best years ahead of him. Unlike Johnson, he’s not a defensive liability, but offers similar amounts of energy and offensive overlapping down the right.
We’re quietly pleased with Clyne as a target, although recognise for £15m, he needs to hit the ground running.