Southampton ‘trying to hijack’ deal for 19 y/o but Man City ‘agreed fee’ with Leverkusen

Samuel Edozie looked on his way to Bayer Leverkusen this summer after being in Germany to finalise a deal, but a fee wasn’t agreed with Manchester City at the time. This opened the door to another suitor snatching him off Leverkusen’s hands.

Fabrizio Romano says Southampton are ‘trying to hijack’ a deal for the 19-year-old, but they may have left it too late to convince Edozie to make the switch. Romano says Leverkusen have finally ‘agreed a fee’ with City, so the Saints may be barking up the wrong tree.

Edozie joined City from Millwall in 2019 and has gone on to scored five goals with six assists from 22 games for the U18s and score eight goals with three assists from 33 games for the U23s.

The England U19 international has only managed one first-team appearance in his three years at the Etihad Stadium, so a move away could suit all parties – Edozie is behind Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez in the pecking order.

Leverkusen want Edozie to potentially replace Moussa Diaby while Southampton would be adding the 19-year-old to a squad containing Nathan Redmond, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Moussa Djenepo, Nathan Tella and Theo Walcott – though Djenepo, Tella and Walcott weren’t regulars last season.

In other news, Claudio Gomes has uncertain future at Man City after making three appearances in four years