Saints Marching
Fansided

Southampton: Saints offered chance to sign former Man U defender

By Ryan Borowski

TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 02: Rafael (L) of Olympique Lyonnais in action against Stefano Sturaro of Juventus during the UEFA Champions League Group H match between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on November 2, 2016 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 02: Rafael (L) of Olympique Lyonnais in action against Stefano Sturaro of Juventus during the UEFA Champions League Group H match between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on November 2, 2016 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Rafael da Silva has fallen out of favor at Lyon and he is now being offered to a trio of Premier League sides including Southampton.

According to a new report from Sky Sports, Lyon are making the 29-year-old right-back available for purchase as he would like to make a return to the Premier League.

da Silva, signed with Manchester United back in 2008. From there he went to Lyon where he has made 129 appearances for the club and was regularly a starter.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 28: Rafael Da Silva of Lyon is closed down by Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais at Emirates Stadium on July 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 28: Rafael Da Silva of Lyon is closed down by Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais at Emirates Stadium on July 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

He has lost his spot to Kenny Tete and would like to return to first team football. Other than the Southampton; Brighton and Crystal Palace have also been offered the chance to purchase the veteran defender.

The deal would likely be on the cheaper side of things as he is older now and not the player he used to be. This is why I do not believe Ralph and the club will go for him as they want to go younger with the players they purchase.

It is no secret that Southampton are in the market for a full-back but I do not believe da Silva would be the answer.

Ralph wants players he can shape and mold into the kind of player he wants and there are a lot of younger more exciting prospects that the Brazilian.

dark. Next. Two New January Transfer Rumors for Saints

Just a week into the transfer window and we have already been linked to a number of players. This is one I do not have a high degree of confidence in actually happening.

Home/Southampton FC News