Barcelona are reportedly set to swoop for Southampton defender Cedric Soares, with a £25m bid set to see the Saints receive five times what they paid for him.
The 25-year-old arrived from Sporting Lisbon in 2015 and has grown into an important role for Claude Puel’s side while picking up 16 international caps and winning Euro 2016 with Portugal.
Soares has made 23 appearances in all competitions so far this season, but as per The Sun, it appears as though Southampton could be about to lose another key first-team player.
The most surprising element of this story is of course the fact that it’s Barcelona who are keen, with the Catalan giants needing to finally address their issues at right back.
Having failed to adequately replace Dani Alves this season, Luis Enrique has had a headache in that position all year as he has tried different personnel to plug the gap.
It hasn’t been consistently successful, and so in turn it’s no surprise that a right-back is on the agenda for the Spanish giants, but it is a slight shock that Soares is the man that they want.
Albeit with Liverpool the usual benefactors, Southampton have consistently sold their best players when big offers have come in and it has to be said that it’s unlikely to be any different this time round.
While the Portuguese international is a top player, history would suggest that the Saints won’t stand in his way and so now much depends on whether Barca are ready to pay the big fee touted and bet on Soares to be the long-term solution to their problems at right-back.