Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap is set for a return to the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
That is according to a report by the German news outlet Sport1, which suggests the Saints are about to lose a player whose feet are barely under the table.
The German international only joined the Saints last summer from VFL Bochum but, with their relegation to the Championship, the centre-back will want to play at a higher level.
It is claimed that Dortmund would like Bella-Kotchap as a replacement for Soumaila Coulibaly after they allowed him to move to Royal Antwerp on loan in Belgium.
It was reported last month that Bella-Kotchap has a £25 million release clause in his contract, which is now active following Southampton’s relegation last season. This could mean that the Saints could make a decent profit on the 21-year-old after he signed for just £9 million last summer.
Will Southampton regret letting Armel Bella-Kotchap go?
Financially, this deal is a brilliant one for Southampton. Making a £16 million profit on a player – when usually teams who get relegated end up making a loss in order to balance the books – is good business.
From a footballing perspective, however, this deal could be a blow to the Saints. Bella-Kotchap was a standout player for them last term despite it being a very poor season.
Even if results were not going Southampton’s way, that did not stop Germany from calling him up to their national team squad, giving him his senior debut against England in September, coming on as a late substitute.
He was also called up to their World Cup squad for Qatar, but failed to make an appearance at the tournament as his nation bowed out at the group stage.
Despite him arguably being the club’s best centre-back, it appears manager Russell Martin has been preparing for the new season under the impression that he would leave. Bella-Kotchap has failed to make any of the three matchday squads so far this season, with Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek appearing to be Martin’s first-choice centre-backs.
With the club also having options for centre-back such as Lyanco, Romain Perraud and Dynel Simeu, it looks like Southampton have plenty of depth in that position and will be unlikely to replace Bella-Kotchap should he leave. The Saints have been linked with a move for Mason Holgate so they could still add to that area of the field.