“Do not bite the hand that feeds you.” Sofiane Boufal clashing with manager Mark Hughes has opened the exit gates at Southampton for the player to find himself out the door.
Boufal has been granted the opportunity to say his temporary goodbyes to those at St. Mary’s Stadium as a chance to quit Southampton looms large. An opening has been paved for the attacking midfielder to make a loan move to French outfit Nice and it was revealed the player kept clashing with boss Hughes during the concluded Premier League campaign, Mirror reports.
It is understood that the player has no future at Southampton as long as manager Hughes is at the helm of the dressing room. The Moroccan international has been left out of the Saints’ preseason squad, as the team makes their way to China to gain some game time and increase their fitness levels before the start of the season. He has been given this time off to look for a new club to ply his trade at.
Nice will have to work hard at improving the 24-year-old’s finishing and ability to find the back of the net as the player scored a miserly 3 goals in 50 league appearances for Southampton. Boufal had made the switch to England following his arrival from Ligue 1 team Lille in the summer of 2016. He was brought into the team to replace the void left by current Liverpool fan favourite Sadio Mane after the Senegalese was purchased by the Merseyside club.
French counterparts Marseille is said to have also been following the happenings between player and club as they hope to pounce on the player should the move to Nice fall apart. Boufal is still comparatively young in age and a move away from a toxic work environment will only benefit the player’s chances of growing more in his profession.
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Boufal possesses good pace and is fast on the ball. He can curl one into the top corner with either foot, as seen during his spell at Angers FC, of the French League. In addition, he cuts in from the wing and makes tantalizing runs at the opposition defence as he searches for a goal. He is tricky with his feet and can rocket the ball into the net if given the time and space. Boufal has a chance of redemption to show the world that, on his day, he can be a real gem to have on one’s team.
