Southampton were reportedly shocked by Arsenal’s interest in Cedric Soares during the January transfer window.
According to The Athletic, Southampton could not believe that Arsenal wanted to sign Cedric, as they were preparing to lose him on a free transfer in the summer.
The report claims that Southampton could not see any logic in Arsenal’s approach, with Cedric eventually completing a loan move to The Emirates which will see Southampton earn £5m.
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This appears to be a rare deal in which both clubs have seemingly got exactly what they wanted. Southampton have been able to receive money for a player they were expecting to lose for nothing, whilst Arsenal believe they have strengthened their squad.
Southampton signed Kyle Walker-Peters on loan from Tottenham before letting Cedric leave, which meant that they already had a replacement in place. This means that Southampton did not lose any depth by allowing Cedric to join Arsenal, with Walker-Peters being a natural right-back.
All in all, Southampton got what they wanted and were able to replace Cedric, so – on paper – they enjoyed a successful transfer window in regards to the right-back situation at the club.
The only question is over what they will do in the summer, with Walker-Peters returning to Tottenham – with no option-to-buy in his loan deal. It will be interesting to see if he can impress enough in the next few months to encourage Southampton to try to sign him permanently.
Walker-Peters could also offer Southampton a greater attacking outlet down the right than Cedric. The Spurs defender has five Premier League assists in 12 games, whilst Cedric has only mustered three assists in his last 25 Premier League appearances.
This indicates that he could pose more of a threat in an attacking sense for the Saints, which means that he could be an improvement on the Portuguese international during the second-half of the season.
Byetting extra money in the bank, and bringing in a player who could provide more the the team based on his stats, it looks like Saints completed a great deal in letting Cedric leave.
