Saints have confirmed that they have agreed a deal for Sofiane Boufal to move to Spanish side Celta Vigo.

The news put up on the club's official website states that Sofiane Boufal will join Celta Vigo on a season long loan, it has been common knowledge that both club and player were keen to find an agreeable solution after Boufal fell out with Mark Hughes shortly after he joined the club as manager albeit back then on a temporary basis.

The confirmation that Hughes would be manager on a permanent deal meant that Boufal would be looking for pastures anew this coming season.

The problem for Saints though was finding a club willing to match his wages not to mention getting a transfer fee.

The loan move will suit both parties although it is unclear how much of the players wages that Celta Vigo will cover of if a loan fee is involved, either way at least it does free up some money for Saints to spend elsewhere.

The statement from the club was short but sweet

"Southampton Football Club can confirm it has reached an agreement with Celta Vigo for Sofiane Boufal to join on a season-long loan.

The 24-year-old Moroccan is now set to move to the Spanish top-flight side, two years after joining Saints from Lille.

In that time, Boufal has made 59 appearances for Southampton, scoring four goals.

We wish Sofiane good luck for the season ahead. "

Photo: Action Images

IanRC added 19:05 - Jul 20 Sorry to see him go truth be told but will feel better if we get Wellbeck .....
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RogerToye added 19:08 - Jul 20 4 goals only says it all all be it special goals
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underweststand added 06:14 - Jul 21 Best solution all round - wasn't it?. Obviously the issues between him and MH won't go away and (rumour had it) that some players were unhappy with him in the side and not commiting 100% in every game. I admit I did enjoy those few goals he did score (and were worthy of a Goal of the Season accolade) but I might also say that about the fantastic effort that Dani Osvaldo scored against Man City (?) at SMS, but those memories quickly fade. The club have moved on a high-salary misfit, who might eventually do well and find a better alternative club to buy him. One can only hope. What is clear is that players like Boufal and Carrillo may easily impress when playing in a top club where they can add something extra, but clearly will find that life in the Prem. can be a nightmare move.

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highfield49 added 08:58 - Jul 21 I thought Leicester might have shown a bit of interest in Boufal but it would appear that Puel isn't too much of a fan either. Hopefully Celta Vigo are making a large contribution to his pay packet and a permanent move can be arranged in January. I can't see his ego changing any time soon and sadly he's just not a team player.
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redwight added 10:03 - Jul 21 I cannot see how these loan moves benefit us. Yes, we get some/all of the wages paid, but what about the huge amount of money locked up in both Boufal and Carillo which will be considerably reduced by the time they return as their contracts wind down?
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Consigliere added 11:47 - Jul 21 I can see nothing but good reasons for doing this. Not a team player, flattered to deceive, disruptive, expensive, over-rated and unreliable. Renting him out makes perfect sense.
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underweststand added 12:54 - Jul 21 to redwight I agree it's frustrating to think that we have forked out £35 million on two players who just haven't gelled into the squad. Add to this that even on £40K /week salary levels , they are costing the club around £2 million a year EACH. Clearly neither of them has much of a chance of becoming first team regulars in the current situation. The loan outs will (1) hopefully give them regular game time and a chance to improve their form and (a) come back a better player , or (2) get enough attention from other clubs to want to buy them and we can recover our outlay. The loaning club will pay part / all of their salaries and that will ease our salary costs. Not the best solution of course, but we've been through this before with the Ramirez and Osvaldo fiascos. Sometimes we just have to accept it didn't work out as planned.

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aceofthebase added 09:00 - Jul 22 Definitely a player with attitude, however, the club has never really tried to develop his gameplay. This is as much a failure of management and the training staff as Boufal who could have been a sensational player rather than the selfish going nowhere player that we all saw.
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TeamCortese added 20:03 - Jul 22 If Boufal can succeed at another club with his level of talent then there's something fundamentally wrong with our coaching staff...period. I don't care what others in this forum have to say about him. He's our most talent attacker! A managers job is to manage. Hughes hasn't handled this well. I think this will come to bite him in the arse if he isn't careful. What I don't understand is why are we shipping him and Carrillo out without having replacements lined up beforehand?

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