Southampton have signed Jeremy Pied on a free transfer from Nice in a two-year deal. Pied, 27, played for new Southampton boss Claude Puel for Nice last season, as well as working under him at Lyon. The Saints have now made four signings this summer, following the arrivals of Nathan Redmond from Norwich and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Bayern Munich as well as signing goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from QPR for an undisclosed fee.
Southampton have had to contend with the annual practice of seeing their best players leave for other clubs, especially Liverpool(!) This year has been no different with Sadio Mane off to Liverpool and Victor Wanyama going to Tottenham Hotspur to gallantly shield their back-four. On top of losing their two stars, the Saints have been dealt a blow in the form of Ronald Koeman joining Everton to steady their ship.
This has left Claude Puel with the job of holding the fort and making sure Southampton don’t get mired into the lower half of the table. The Frenchman has a wise head on his shoulders and has gone about adding depth and securing cover for the departing stars.
HISTORY
Pied’s career began with Lyon, before making his first senior appearances during a loan spell with FC Metz during the 2009/10 campaign. The defender returned to Lyon and made 35 appearances across the course of the 2010/11 campaign, going on to win the Coupe de France the following season. Pied then made the move to Nice to work alongside Puel for the second time. The defender made 83 appearances during his stay with the club, enjoying a loan spell at Guingamp in 2014/15.
The player was visibly delighted after the completion of the deal and welcomed the chance to ply his trade in the English Premier League. He also spoke about the stage Southampton have reached in their last few seasons.
“The English league is a very attractive one and it was a goal of mine to be able to play in it. I’m now very happy to join Southampton.
“You only have to look at the facilities and their results over the last few seasons to know that this is a very good Premier League club.”
Going with the popular opinion, the Chairman stressed that the new signing would be vying for a first team spot with Cedric Soares, who recently won the Euros with Portugal. Southampton, despite losing Clyne a year ago are well-covered in their full-back areas and the addition of Pied will aid them in dealing with the additional matches of the Europa league.
“The signing of Jeremy confirms the commitment of Southampton to succeed again in the Premier League and Europa League, as well as go for a run in the cup competitions.
“We already have a top quality right-back in Cedric, whose achievements with Portugal in the summer were outstanding. While Jeremy will provide excellent competition, he is also a versatile defender and again will be pushing Cedric, Cuco [Martina] and the other current defensive incumbents hard.”
The 27-year old who can also play on the wing, is a good dribbler of the ball and provides key passes while joining in the attack. The Frenchman likes to venture up the field but does not shy away from his defensive duties. While he is unlikely to straightaway slot into the first team, his addition will certainly bolster their options heading into one of the most competitive seasons in the Premier League. A quality addition by Puel who has good knowledge of the Ligue 1.
