Southampton fans are left puzzled with their allies, Goztepe's willingness to handover their €20m prized asset to the Saints future top-flight rivals.
Since Sport Republic's arrival at Southampton, the Saints as well as Turkish outfit Goztepe have exchanged multiple young prodigies among each other. More often than not, it's Southampton sending their teenage gems to their counterparts but it doesn't imply that Goztepe are devoid of any players worth tempting for the decision-makers at St. Mary's.
Most notably, their red-hot rhythm striker Romulo who has drawn applause from the Southampton fans towards the final stretch of the season. And these few weeks are always going to be dominated by attacker rumours, so, why not bring him into the shortlisted discussion, too?
After all, Romulo is someone who won't be hard to attain for Southampton as their strong transfer ties with Goztepe are likely to outweigh their non top-flight status. Yet, it's strange to see that this upper-hand isn't enough to secure a first-movers advantage.
Saints may have to watch Romulo's English success from a distance
In their own words, the Athletic unveiled a bizarre transfer stance from Goztepe: "Fulham tabled a proposal worth €16million plus add-ons and a sell-on clause. It was rejected by Goztepe, who are seeking more than €20m for the former Athletico Paranaense player."
Leave aside the negotiating part but entertaining bids from again soon-to-be Premier League rivals Fulham won't go down well among the Saints. Likewise, if they contacted the Southampton board previously and received a lukewarm response, then it's a different story and nobody can be blamed.
Could offloading Paul Onuachu to Goztepe's domestic competitors made them upset with Southampton?
Maybe, but one thing is certain, Romulo potentially going on to imitate his Super Lig numbers for Fulham would definitely add his name into the never-ending transfer bloopers list that cost the Saints dearly in the long run.