Southampton need to avoid a swoop for Bright Osayi-Samuel after QPR coach Neil Banfield revealed it will take a bid in the region of £20m to let him go this summer.
Banfield says that QPR are realistic about their chances of keeping their star players if they fail to achieve promotion and says that any offers of around £20m are likely to be accepted.
Speaking to West London Sport, Banfield said:
If the offers come in of £20m and £20m-plus, I don’t think there would be many clubs that could turn that down.
Obviously we don’t want them to leave. We’d want them to stay at the club, get the club promoted and play in the Premier League for the Rangers.
We’d love to get promoted and play with Ebs, Ilias (Chair) and Brighty (Bright Osayi-Samuel), but I think you’ve got to be realistic.
The real world is that if a club comes in now with loads of money then those lads have got to go. It’s just a fact of life.
Football Insider reported earlier this year that Southampton are plotting a swoop for Osayi-Samuel and have been keeping tabs on the exciting winger throughout the Championship season.
With this latest update, however, Southampton should abandon their efforts – for now – and focus on other targets. Whilst Osayi-Samuel is enjoying a decent season in the second tier, with five goals and seven assists, £20m is a huge price tag and one that Southampton should avoid paying.
To put it into context, Southampton paid £14m to sign Moussa Djenepo from Standard Liege last summer. Djenepo, who is a year younger than Osayi-Samuel, produced 11 goals and six assists in the 2018/19 campaign – including three goals in the Europa League.
So, if Southampton can sign an international winger with those stats for £14m, why should they pay an extra £6m – or potentially more – for a player who is a year older and has similar to worse stats? It does not seem to make sense from a financial standpoint for the Saints.
