Championship outfit Southampton have agreed to send fullback Romain Perraud back to OGC Nice in Ligue 1 for the rest of the season, it has been officially confirmed by both parties.
However, Southampton omitted a particularly important piece of information on the club’s website when announcing the completion of the transfer. The Saints did not acknowledge that the deal included an option to buy for Nice.
The reasons for this omission are unclear but Nice had no issues revealing the extent of the transfer. The French side’s official website wrote a beautifully poetic statement about the return of the academy graduate while confirming the true nature of the deal:
“After flourishing under other skies, he [Perraud] is now picking up the thread of his story, through a loan with [an] option to buy until the end of the season.”
According to Nice-Matin, via Sport Witness, the option-to-buy fee for Perraud is just under €10 million, which equates to £8.5 million.
Having come through the club’s academy, Perraud left Nice for Stade Brestois but signed for Southampton in 2021 for a sum in excess of £11 million, according to Hampshire Live.
The Saints will make a loss on Perraud overall by a few million but will still have £8.5 million coming into the club should Nice decide to make the deal permanent at any time during the 2023/24 season before the fullback returns to the St. Mary’s Stadium.
Writer’s View
Having an option-to-buy clause in Perraud’s contract is one of the most important pieces of information about this loan deal, if not the most important so it seems peculiar that Southampton have hidden the fact from readers in the club’s official statement.
However, this move makes sense for all parties as Perraud will not want to play Championship football this season and Southampton could bag £8.5 million at any point during the campaign.
