Fabrizio Romano confirms that Sulemana's loan move to Ajax is called off

Southampton signed Kamaldeen Sulemana in January 2023 for a transfer fee of £22 million from French club Rennes. The 22-year-old possesses great pace and dribbling and his playmaking makes him one of the best young forwards in the Premier League. However, he has been highly inconsistent with his performances for the Saints after arriving at the St. Mary's stadium last year.

Last season, he scored only two goals and provided four assists in the Championship in appearances for Russell Martin's side. Therefore, Southampton have decided to send him on a season long loan transfer this summer in order to give him more playing time and gain experience playing in the first team. Dutch side Ajax agreed a loan transfer to sign Sulemana from the Saints to replace Steven Bergwijn, who joined Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Fabrizio Romano confirms that Sulemana's loan move to Ajax is called off

However, the two clubs waited for FIFA's confirmation of the deal as the agreement was reached on the final day of the transfer window. Now, transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that the transfer is called off and Sulemana will return to Southampton, saying,

"Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ajax, deal OFF."

- Fabrizio Romano

This was a great opportunity for Sulemana to continue his development as a left winger in the Dutch league, playing for Ajax. Ajax focus on developing young players and several players have go on to play for top European clubs after displaying impressive performances at Ajax. Southampton also wanted Sulemana to perform well at Ajax, so that they Ajax would sign him on a permanent basis next season and the Saints would have got a significant transfer fee as well.

Also, Sulemana could have returned to Southampton next season aiming to display his high potential in the Premier League and become one of the best forwards in Europe. However, this isn't the case now, and Sulemana looks highly likely to stay at Southampton this season.