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BREAKING: Southampton sign attacker Elyounoussi for £16m

By Marc Walker

OSLO, NORWAY - MARCH 23: Mohamed Amine Elyounoussi of Norway during International Friendly between Norway v Australia at Ullevaal Stadion on March 23, 2018 in Oslo, Norway. (Photo by Trond Tandberg/Getty Images)
OSLO, NORWAY - MARCH 23: Mohamed Amine Elyounoussi of Norway during International Friendly between Norway v Australia at Ullevaal Stadion on March 23, 2018 in Oslo, Norway. (Photo by Trond Tandberg/Getty Images) /
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Southampton have completed the signing of Norwegian international winger Mohamed Elyounoussi from Basel for a fee of £16m.

The 23-year-old joins on a five-year deal and becomes Southampton’s second summer signing following their capture of Stuart Armstrong from Celtic on Tuesday.

Saints have been admirers of Elyounoussi for while and reports have linked them with a move for him in the past.

They have now got their man though as they look to improve the creativity and attacking threat in Mark Hughes’ squad ahead of the 2018/19 season.

The numbers help to back up why they have brought Elyounoussi to the South Coast too. He contributed to 30 of Basel’s goals last season, with 13 goals and 17 assists across all competitions.

Next: Alex McCarthy signs new Saints deal

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 07: Mohamed Elyounoussi of FC Basel shoots goalwards under pressure from Claudio Bravo of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Manchester City and FC Basel at Etihad Stadium on March 7, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 07: Mohamed Elyounoussi of FC Basel shoots goalwards under pressure from Claudio Bravo of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Manchester City and FC Basel at Etihad Stadium on March 7, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /

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The man who has 16 caps for his country is also the ideal replacement for Dusan Tadic, who will join Dutch club Ajax on July 1st after four years at St Mary’s.

Elyounoussi brings immense talent but also youth and potential to grow in a more competitive league. Serbian Tadic is six years his senior and this would have been on the minds of Saints for their summer plans.

The Norwegian started his career with Sarpsborg 08 before transferring to Molde FK. He cost Basel around £2.8m when he made the move to Switzerland in 2016.

He has 246 career appearances to his name so far and those matches have produced an impressive tally of 83 goals and 49 assists.

Saints have also seemingly beaten off competition from other clubs to complete their latest signing. The Daily Star recently mentioned fellow Premier League side Leicester City as suitors of the Elyounoussi.

Southampton’s transfer committee will be pleased to get this deal ahead of the Foxes after missing out on the signature of James Maddison to the Midlands club.

This week has seen the club linked with a number of signings as they look to step up their recruitment drive. Goalkeeper Angus Gunn and defender Jannik Vestergaard have both been mentioned in various reports as targets for the Saints.

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