According to reports in The Mirror, Southampton right-back Cedric Soares is on the radar of their Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the summer transfer window.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that Spurs manager and former Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino is monitoring the situation of the Euro 2016 winner as he looks to strengthen his squad in wide areas.
The Mirror reports that the Portugal international could be one of the first out of the St Mary’s exit door should the south coast outfit suffer relegation to the Championship – something that is very much on the cards right now as they lie four points from safety with four matches remaining.
How has Cedric done this season?
Like many of his teammates, the right-back has underperformed and not been up to the level that he has shown previously, although he isn’t one of the three first-team stars that shouldn’t play for the club ever again.
The 26-year-old has struggled from a defensive point of view, while he has provided just two assists in 32 appearances in all competitions from an attacking sense, with his crossing and shooting often leaving a lot to be desired.
That said, he did find the net for the first time for the club in the FA Cup quarter-final win against Wigan Athletic last month, meaning he now has one goal in 93 outings in total for Saints.
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Will he go this summer?
If Southampton go down that it seems certain that the Portugal international will go, and even if they stay up that looks likely to be the case, too.
Considering he hasn’t been at his best for a while now, if the club can get a decent fee from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United – who are also reported to be keen on him according to The Mirror – then they would probably take it to allow them to rebuild again.
Would he be a big loss for Southampton?
Not really, and the club and the fans wouldn’t lose too much sleep over his departure.
As we mentioned previously, Cedric has struggled to make much of an impact at both ends of the pitch this season, and Saints are likely to want to freshen things up in the right-back position this summer, whatever the outcome of their season is.