According to L’Equipe football journalist Bilel Ghazi on his official Twitter account, Watford have had a €12m (approximately £10.9m) bid rejected for versatile Lyon forward Maxwel Cornet.
Sport Witness says that the Hornets will face some stiff competition to win the race for the 20-year-old’s signature, with Cologne also having had an offer turned down and Borussia Dortmund keen if Ousmane Dembele was to leave for Barcelona this summer.
The Ivory Coast international – who can play on the wing or as a centre-forward – has certainly made a big impression in Ligue 1 and it is no surprise that he is gaining admiring glances from other clubs.
Meanwhile, Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has made two signings this summer – Jan Bednarek and Mario Lemina – but he is still looking to strengthen his squad and could look to bring in another wide forward following the departure of Jay Rodriguez to West Bromwich Albion in July, and the Argentine boss may well decide that Cornet could be a good addition.
Here are three reasons Southampton should hijack Watford’s bid to sign the forward…
They need a winger
With Nathan Redmond looking to have locked down his spot on the left ahead of Ryan Bertrand and with Dusan Tadic and Sofiane Boufal appearing to be more effective in the number 10 role, Southampton are looking a little short on the right side of their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
James Ward-Prowse ended the previous campaign there while Shane Long has often found himself in that spot during pre-season, but neither have looked particularly comfortable.
Pellegrino could now look to add a wide-man to his squad and Cornet could be the ideal option as his ability to play on either flank – as well as a centre-forward – means that he could swap with Redmond, who is also able to play on the right, during matches.
Ability/Potential
Even though he is just 20 years of age, Cornet has certainly been an impressive performer for Lyon over the course of the past couple of seasons.
The 20-year-old ended the previous campaign having scored 10 goals and provided a further three assists in 51 appearances in all competitions, and creating chances for his teammates is perhaps one side of his game that the needs to work on.
However, he showed signs of doing that in Lyon’s first Ligue 1 match this term after picking up an assist despite being on the pitch for just 12 minutes.
The speedy winger was even more effective in front of goal in the 2015/16 season when he netted 12 times in 40 outings in total, and he looks to have a bright future ahead of him.
Price tag
Southampton have shown in recent years that while they are willing to spend significant money on new players like Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina, they are yet to break the £20m barrier as so many other Premier League clubs already have done.
With Watford already having a £10.9m bid rejected for Cornet it is clear that a higher offer will be needed to secure the highly-rated 20-year-old, but the Ivory Coast international could just be in Saints’ price range if Lyon are willing to accept a bid of around the £20m mark or under for the versatile forward.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below?
