A forgotten Southampton man may not play for the club again as talks over a summer transfer intensify.
The state of Southampton’s summer business will depend on whether they get promoted to the Premier League, however, there are a few first-team stars that look likely to depart.
Striker Che Adams has been a crucial piece to Russell Martin‘s promotion puzzle this term, but he is out of contract in June and Wolves are leading the race to sign him.
Southampton also have multiple players out on loan, including Charly Alcaraz, Paul Onuachu and Duje Caleta-Car who all could be sold in the summer regardless of whether top-flight football is achieved.
Caleta Car, in particular, is a forgotten man at St Mary’s, spending this season on loan at Lyon.
Duje Caleta-Car’s season in numbers at Lyon
Southampton completed the £8 million signing of Croatian international Caleta-Car from Marseille with Ralph Hasenhuttl praising the “quality” he’d bring to their talented group of centre-backs.
The 27-year-old sadly didn’t live up to that hype, making just 13 appearances in the Premier League while facing criticism for his subpar performances on several occasions as a defensive pairing of Armel Bella-Kotchap and Jan Bednarek was preferred over him.
Unsurprisingly, the Saints loaned him out in the summer with the Croatian, once labelled as an “absolute monster” by journalist Josh Bunting, returning to Ligue 1 with Lyon.
He’s become a regular in the heart of their defence, featuring 17 times in the league and recording some impressive defensive metrics, including seven clean sheets, 3.6 clearances and 3.2 balls recovered per game.
Lyon can make their loan deal permanent in the summer, but while his future is still up in the air, another European club have stepped up their interest.
Trabzonspor want to sign Duje Caleta-Car
Trabzonspor have built up a strong connection with Southampton recently having struck deals for Mislav Oršić and Paul Onuachu in the summer.
According to outlet Haber 61, as relayed by Sport Witness, the Turkish side are looking to use that connection to their advantage by increasing their efforts to sign Caleta-Car from the Saints.
The report claims that, if Lyon decides against signing the Croatian permanently, Trabzonspor will “intensify their negotiations” ahead of a potential summer move.
Although it remains to be seen whether he’d be happy with a switch to Turkish shores, Caleta-Car’s future is probably away from St Mary’s unless a dramatic U-turn is made.