da winzada777： According to David Ornstein in his ‘Ornstein on Monday’ segment, Southampton could hardly believe that Arsenal’s interest in Cedric was true and saw no logic in the approach.
da lvbet： The 33-cap Portugal international was set to be out of contract at St Mary’s in the summer, and after suffering knee ligament damage away to Crystal Palace, the Saints were said to have felt that losing him on a free at the end of the campaign was the most likely outcome.
However, the Gunners came in with a late approach to sign the full-back on loan in a package worth around £5m to Southampton – Mikel Arteta’s side feel that, once Cedric gets fit, they will be getting exactly what they wanted from the market.
What was said?
Ornstein wrote in his weekly segment: “When the extent of the injury he suffered away to Crystal Palace on January 21 emerged, it was accepted that leaving for free in the summer may now be the most likely outcome.
“As deadline week drew closer, news of Arsenal’s interest surfaced and Southampton could hardly believe it was true. They saw barely any logic in the approach and put it down to certain relationships between Arsenal and Soares’s people, yet there were no complaints from the south coast. A deal was done that suited all sides — the package is worth around £5m to Saints and Arsenal feel that, once fit, in Soares they will get exactly what they were seeking from the market.”
Shows how far he had fallen at St Mary’s
Southampton’s shocked reaction to another club actually being interested in the former Sporting Lisbon man shows just how far his star has fallen at St Mary’s.
The 28-year-old really hasn’t been held in high regards by a section of Southampton fans this season, with a portion of them slamming his performance against Norwich despite watching their side record a crucial 2-1 win, while they were then disappointed to see him named in the starting XI to take on Newcastle the following week after such a dreadful display.
Also, Kyle Walker-Peters had been brought in shortly before Cedric’s exit, suggesting that Ralph Hasenhuttl didn’t really believe the right-back position was one of his strongest given how he opted to bolster it – that specific capture was the only signing made by the Austrian in January.
What could’ve been… Can you name the clubs these football legends almost joined?
If that wasn’t enough to suggest Cedric’s reputation on the south coast had dipped, their reaction of disbelief to another side wanting to take him off their hands surely shows how far he has fallen at St Mary’s.
In other news, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg may have provided a hint about his future on Instagram…