Southampton: Five possible replacements for Sofiane Boufal

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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Sofiane Boufal of Southampton walks to the dugout for the start of the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Southampton at Selhurst Park on September 16, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /

Earlier today Southampton announced their squad for their pre-season tour in China – with Sofiane Boufal notably excluded from the trip.

It’s been a given for some time that the Saints would shop the Moroccan once the season had concluded, with the 24-year-old having fallen out with Mark Hughes who was eventually given the job on a long-term basis.

Since March the winger has trained with the Under-23’s and once the season had finished he even expressed interest in returning to his native France, where his performances for Lille earned him the £16 million move to Southampton two years ago.

Despite the arrival of Mohamed Elyounoussi from Basel the Saints are still in dire need of another winger, as outside of Moi, the side only have Nathan Redmond and Josh Sims as natural supporting players to the striker if Boufal does leave.

One of Southampton’s biggest problems in the past campaign has been creativity, with the #9 often remaining isolated for big portions of the game. However, off the bench, the Saints have never had much rotation or impact for the best part, meaning more depth is desperately needed before the 2018/19 campaign.

So, what five players could the Saints pursue if and when Sofiane Boufal departs?

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