Southampton target Ruben Semedo confirms summer move
By Chris Hughes
Southampton’s look set to lose out on one of their main summer targets, with the player’s agent confirming his next destination.
With Virgil van Dijk’s future very much up in the air, you’d imagine Southampton would be meticulously searching for his potential replacement. To many fans that man was Ruben Semedo.
The Portuguese centre-back had been heavily linked with the club before, with Saints battling alongside promoted Newcastle United for his signature, with a fee of just £13 million apparently enough to take him off Sporting’s hands.
The 23-year-old’s agent has confirmed that the defender will following his ‘dream’ to play in Spain, by linking up with Villarreal. Fran Escriba’s side finished fifth in La Liga in the season just gone and will want to build upon the successful season this summer.
Only Atletico Madrid conceded less goals than Villarreal’s 33 from the 38 games played, meaning Semedo will join an already well-oiled machine at the back.
Semedo has been part of the first-team set-up in Lisbon for the past two seasons, making 38 appearances in all including 24 this time around. He was part of the side which finished third this campaign, although they were a whole six points behind Porto in second.
However his combination of pace, dribbling and a six-foot-three figure make him a perfect replacement for Virgil, who is now odds-on to join Liverpool this summer following cooled-off interest from Chelsea.
The news comes just hours after Manchester City reported ignited their interest in English left-back Ryan Bertrand, having failed to land Monaco’s Benjamin’s Mendy.