Former Saint Jose Fonte heads to Boufal's old club Lille
Friday 20 July 2018 19:30, UK
Southampton winger Sofiane Boufal has joined Celta Vigo on a season-long loan.
The 24-year-old Morocco international joined the Saints in a £16m deal from Lille in August 2016, making 59 appearances and scoring four goals.
However, Boufal does not feature in the plans of manager Mark Hughes for the new campaign having fallen out of favour towards the end of last season. He last played for the club in March and was left out of Southampton's pre-season tour to China.
A statement on the Southampton website said: "We wish Sofiane good luck for the season ahead."
Meanwhile, former Saints defender Jose Fonte has agreed to join Ligue 1 Lille on a two-year deal.
Fonte started all four games at the World Cup in Russia as Portugal were eliminated by Uruguay in the round of 16. Two years ago, Fonte was a member of the squad which won the Euro 2016 in France.
He is the second international to join Lille this summer after former France forward Loic Remy.
"I'm very proud to join Lille, which is a great French club," Fonte said. "It's a new challenge for me, hopefully it will be successful."
