Southampton target joins Italian giants Roma on five-year deal

Reported Saints target Gregoire Defrel has offically joined Roma on a deal that will last until the summer of 2022.

Southampton’s search for a replacement for Jay Rodriguez has taken another hit, as French striker Gregoire Defrel as been announced as a Roma player via their official Twitter.

The Italian club’s unveiling of their new forward was also extremely similar to how Southampton announced Stuart Taylor’s contract extension, to the extent that the Saints’ official Twitter replied to Roma’s reveal.

Defrel was linked with the Saints around the turn of the month, with his natural pace and hard-working style making him a great fit for any side. It was originally believed that Southampton would have to offer around £16 million for the attacker, however the reported deal taking him to Roma is apparently worth close to £21 million.

The 26-year-old Defrel is somewhat of a late bloomer, having only really found his feet in the Serie A since joining Sassuolo in 2015.

Before that, he was averaging a goal every six games, thanks to returns of four in 23 for Foggia and 16 in 106 for Cesena. However his goals-to-games ratio for I Neroverdi is much better than before, with 20 goals in 62 games.

Despite extending Sam Gallagher’s contract with a new, four-year deal, Southampton have seemingly made a striker one of their priorities this summer window, having reported had a 16-million euro bid turned down for Sandro Wagner earlier this month.

However the Saints have not acted quickly so far, with only Jan Bednarek arriving so far this summer. Whilst the window might have six weeks to go, clubs are acting earlier and earlier nowadays and Southampton will be hoping to make some plays soon, or risk losing out on their main targets.