Saints Sign Saphir Taider From Inter Milan
The worst kept secret is out as finally Saints announced the signing of Algerian International Saphir Taider on a season long loan from Inter Milan.
Although the deal of Taider and the departing Osvaldo are interlinked the options on them are seperate so at the end of the season if they wish to do so Saints can make the Taider move permanent without the need for Osvaldo to move in the other direction on a permanent transfer.
Taider is a midfielder who can play defensively or in a more attacking role and has played in the French leagues as well as in Italy for Bologna and Inter for whom he made 15 appearances last season scoring 1 goal.
After originally playing for the country of his birth France at U18,19 &20 levels he opted to play for Algeria with whom he has won 12 caps and scored 3 goals, representing them in the World Cup Finals in Brazil.
Although he comes on loan this should be looked at as a positive deal for Saints, he is at 22 a youngster with plenty of potential alongside good experience and the loan allows Saints to take a look at him as well as bolstering the squad size.
last season saw Pochettino in effect operate with a squad of around 15 outfield players with the rest of the squad not providing any real competition for those in the first team, the arrival of Taider will add strength to the squad and this being the fourth signing of the summer we are effectively only one player down from last year, what we need now are 3 or 4 signings in crucial positions, then we will be ready to start the season with confidence.
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