Southampton: Elyounoussi nearing loan move away from Saints

Southampton winger Mohamed Elyounoussi is reportedly nearing an exit to Europe with the European transfer window still open currently.

Turkish sports news outlet Fanatik has said that Besiktas have reached an agreement to take the Norwegian on loan from Saints for a fee of 500,000 euros.

The 25-year-old has until the 2nd September to confirm a move to the Turkish Super Lig after a disappointing first season in England.

He arrived at Saints with a reputation for being a creative attacking talent who was capable of scoring and assisting multiple goals per season for previous club Basel.

However, he failed to register a goal or assist in 19 appearances last season and seemed to struggle with the pace of the Premier League overall.

Saints signed Elyounoussi for around £16m in the summer of 2018 as they looked to sign a replacement for the departing Dusan Tadic.

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For Molde and Basel combined he had a great record having scored 65 goals and assisted a further 38 in 176 matches. With these number coming off the left flank, who could have blamed Saints for comparing him to Tadic.

However, his impact was nothing like they had hoped, whilst a reinvigorated Tadic scored for fun at Ajax and reached the Champions League semi-finals.

With Elyounoussi now looking well outside Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans, it is understandable if the player is looking for another new start.

Besiktas finished third in the Turkish Super Lig in 2018/19 and are regarded as one of the biggest clubs in the country.

‘Moi’ will join up with players such as Loris Karius (on-loan from Liverpool), Gary Medel and Ricardo Quaresma in Istanbul if he is to sign there on a temporary deal.

With the likes of Moussa Djenepo, Nathan Redmond and Sofiane Boufal in the Saints squad this season, Elyounoussi’s chances of significant first-team games were only going to become less.