Southampton break club record fee to land Sofiane Boufal

Updated 29/08/2016 at 11:31 GMT

Southampton have completed the club record signing of Lille's Sofiane Boufal for a reported £16m.

Southampton have signed Sofiane Boufal from Lille

Image credit: AFP

Boufal, who has signed a five-year contract, is one of the most sought-after young players in Europe and Southampton hope he will restore the spark lost when Sadio Mane departed for Liverpool.

The 22-year-old, born in Paris but a Moroccan international, joined Lille from Angers in 2015, scoring 12 times in 35 matches last season.

Boufal can play either as a central or left-sided attacking midfielder, but will not feature immediately as he continues his recovery from an operation to repair a meniscus problem in his knee at the end of last season.

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What they said

Sofiane Boufal:

I’m very, very happy to sign for Southampton and I am really excited to play in St Mary’s Stadium in front of the fans. Southampton showed big interest in signing me, and I can see that this club is the best place for me to continue my progression as a footballer I hope I can achieve many great things with Southampton. It is a very good club, with excellent facilities, and I feel it is the perfect environment to continue my development.

Executive director of football Les Reed:

Sofiane is a player we have watched develop closely over the last few years ... His excellent campaign with Lille last season meant a number of clubs were pursuing him to secure his services, but we’re delighted that Sofiane sees Southampton as the best place for him to continue his development. Saints fans may have to wait for a few weeks yet to see him demonstrate his skills, as Sofiane had a delayed start to his pre-season training and will be working very hard with our fitness staff to get up to full match fitness.

What will he bring?

Fast, tricky and the ability to do the seemingly impossible, it's no surprise that Boufal has been likened to former Lille star Eden Hazard. The comparisons are easy to make but there is also a good degree of truth in them - Boufal has a low centre of gravity and can easily skip past a player before bursting away towards goal.

Capable of playing out wide or behind the striker, the Moroccan international loves to drift inside onto his right foot where more often than not he will take the shot on. Last season in the league he scored 11 goals. Hatem Ben Arfa was the only midfielder to score more (17) and even then he spent most of the season playing up front for Nice.