Belief club are ‘on the verge of signing’ Southampton star – ‘Rumours’ it could be completed today
Having sold Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen have been wanting to replace the Frenchman with Nathan Tella, currently contracted to Southampton.
The young winger spent last season on loan at Burnley, where he impressed greatly, which led the Bundesliga side to target him this summer.
However, a deal has been hard to come by, since Southampton are asking for a lot, but Kicker on Friday claim that we might finally have a transfer on our hands.
The German outlet state ‘there are indications’ that Bayer Leverkusen are ‘on the verge of signing’ Nathan Tella from the Saints.
In fact, ‘there are even rumours around the Bay Arena’ that a deal could be completed today, meaning that a deal of more than €20m must have been struck, since that’s what Southampton were asking for.
There have been indications that Leverkusen felt that signing Tella would help them complete Xabi Alonso’s desired puzzle at the Bundesliga side, and signing him, per Kicker, would make this summer ‘considered a perfect one’ when it comes to incomings.
The Stevenage born player has one goal and one assist in three Championship starts this season for the Saints, showing just how impactful he is, even at just 20 years of age.
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The Saints have been linked with a swoop to sign the Premier League defender this summer.
Southampton have endured a long summer of outgoing transfer business as Russell Martin’s squad has been picked apart throughout the window.
Who has left Southampton this summer?
The Saints have decided to cash in on a number of their players; including Romeo Lavia, Ibrahima Diallo, Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Salisu, and Mislav Orsic.
Centre-back Duje Caleta-Car has also been allowed to leave on loan, whilst Theo Walcott, Mohamed Elyounoussi, and Willy Caballero have all departed on free transfers.
Martin could now dip into the market before next week’s deadline in order to bolster his side, and the Scottish head coach has recently been linked with a swoop for West Ham United full-back Ben Johnson.
How good is Ben Johnson?
The 23-year-old dynamo is a versatile and promising young defender who could instantly replace Livramento at St. Mary’s Stadium, after his move to Newcastle United earlier this month.
Johnson is a right-back by trade but has played at least 13 career games as a centre-back, left-back, and right-midfielder to date, which shows that Martin could utilise him in a variety of ways.
Kyle Walker-Peters is the current first-choice right-back but the Hammers youngster could come in to put pressure on the former Tottenham Hotspur ace, which would provide healthy competition for places, or replace him outright as he has also been linked with a surprise move to Arsenal.
Last season, Johnson, who was once described as “immense” by former West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand, caught the eye with his Europa Conference League performances.
The £33k-per-week titan averaged an impressive Sofascore rating of 7.15 across six appearances in the competition as he made 2.9 tackles and interceptions per game and won 64% of his duels.
