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Southampton: Jordy Clasie close to Feyenoord return

By Marc Walker

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: Jordy Clasie of Southampton shoots during The Emirates FA Cup Third Round Replay match between Southampton and Norwich City at St Mary's Stadium on January 18, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: Jordy Clasie of Southampton shoots during The Emirates FA Cup Third Round Replay match between Southampton and Norwich City at St Mary's Stadium on January 18, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Southampton midfielder Jordy Clasie is reportedly close to returning to former club Feyenoord after admitting that he has failed to settle in England.

According to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, the 27-year-old has mentioned his old club as his preferred destination for a transfer this summer after a largely unhappy time with Southampton.

Clasie arrived at St Mary’s for a fee of around £15m in 2015 and joined up with his former Feyenoord manager Ronald Koeman in the move.

25 appearances came for him in his debut campaign on the South Coast and a further 24 came under Claude Puel’s management, but he soon fell out of favour after not featuring as much as he would have wanted.

A season-long loan spell in Belgium with Club Brugge last season hinted at his place in the pecking order at Saints and it now looks like he will move on permanently during this window.

Next: Saints deserve credit for finally pressing on

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – MAY 17: Jordy Clasie of Holland attacks during the International Friendly match between The Netherlands and Ecuador at The Amsterdam Arena on May 17, 2014 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – MAY 17: Jordy Clasie of Holland attacks during the International Friendly match between The Netherlands and Ecuador at The Amsterdam Arena on May 17, 2014 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) /

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Before his transfer to England, Clasie became one of Feyenoord’s best players. Regular caps for the Netherlands had come his way and he had been made captain at De Kuip after coming through the club’s youth system.

After his breakthrough season in 2010/11 in a loan spell at SBV Excelsior, he became one of his country’s hottest young prospects.

17 caps at international level had seen him receive regular call-ups, but he fell out of favour at international level too after signing for Saints.

One moment that Saints fans will remember about his time with the club is his winning goal during a 1-0 win at West Brom in 2016/17. He netted a lovely strike in this game and gave the club a vital win late on in the season.

The defensive-midfielder was included in the travelling party that went to China in Mark Hughes’ first pre-season at the club. He also played 45 minutes in the team’s 3-3 draw with Schalke on Thursday afternoon and provided a great assist for Harrison Reed’s goal.

Clasie will now be wanting to move back to a place he knows well and where he can begin to play his best football again to push back into the international reckoning.

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