Southampton Winger Hints at Exit After Reports of Bust-Up With Manager Mark Hughes
Southampton winger Sofiane Boufal has strongly suggested that he wants to leave the south coast club this summer.
In an interview with French outlet SFR Sport, Boufal said that a move back to France would interest him 'a great deal' as reports of a fall out with Saints manager Mark Hughes have recently emerged.
Hughes made Boufal train with the Southampton Under-23 squad at their Staplewood training ground, a move which has acted as a catalyst for the winger to seek a move back to his home country.
Boufal joined Southampton from Ligue 1 outfit Lille back in 2016 and has made 59 appearances for the Saints, scoring just four goals. A poor record when compared to the 15 goals he scored in 51 games for Lille.
Southampton are reportedly eyeing a move for Pione Sisto, a Celta Vigo winger who has recently been named in Denmark's provisional World Cup squad, and has a £36m buy-out clause.
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Speaking on his future at the Saints, or lack of it, Boufal said: "It's true that today a return to France interests me a great deal.
"A good club in France that plays in Europe of course I would be very very interested in returning. It's a league I know, a language I know...so it's true, a return to France."
The winger also commented on recent reports of a move to Marseille, failing to deny the rumours and saying that a potential move to the club 'interests' him.
"L'Olympique de Marseille remains a very big club," he continued. "This year they've made it to the final of the Europa League...of course L'OM interests me, if they are interested, why not sign for them?"
