Southampton are preparing for offers for Armel Bella-Kotchap this summer and have slapped a £17 million price tag on the German defender, according to reports.
It’s been quite a topsy-turvy campaign for the Saints. Having had aspirations of earning promotion to the Premier League through the automatics, the club will now have to battle it out in the lottery of the play-offs if they are to return to the promised land.
Every time Southampton seemed to get close to the top two, they faltered. Now, Russell Martin’s side are on a three-game losing streak heading into a big game on Saturday afternoon at Elland Road against Leeds United which could decide whether the Whites or Ipswich Town finish inside the top two.
The club on the south coast could potentially end the campaign with four consecutive defeats heading into the play-offs should they fall in West Yorkshire this weekend which wouldn’t bode well for their hopes of clinching victory at Wembley in May.
Furthermore, the Saints will find it incredibly difficult to keep hold of some key players this summer should they remain in the Championship for another season as parachute payments are greatly reduced in the second campaign.
Martin spoke about this recently when revealing that Southampton will likely allow Kyle Walker-Peters to part over the coming months if they fail to return to the top-flight [quotes via the Daily Echo]:
“I think if we get promoted it becomes a lot easier to keep him,” the manager said.
“If we don’t, we won’t keep hold of Kyle. There’s no point in pretending otherwise really, financially for the club and Kyle’s ambitions as well.”
However, another defender is likely to leave the St. Mary’s Stadium this summer too. According to Fabrizio Romano, Bella-Kotchap will also be on his way out the door at the end of the season due to interest from clubs in Germany, Italy and England in the centre-back.
🚨🇩🇪 Armel Bella-Kotchap, likely to leave Southampton at the end of the season with several clubs interested in him from Germany, Italy and England.
Understand price tag will be around €20m. pic.twitter.com/t4ipnbQRiL
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 30, 2024
Additionally, the transfer expert has stated that Southampton will look for around £17 million for his services when the transfer window opens up over the coming weeks.
Writer’s View
The Germany international moved to the south coast at the beginning of the 2022/23 season when Southampton were in the Premier League under the guidance of Ralph Hasenhuttl. However, his debut campaign in English football ended disastrously as he spent long periods on the sidelines with injuries and, ultimately, the club were relegated to the Championship.
Last summer, the 22-year-old was sent out on loan to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven but has been a mere bit-part player under the champions-elect, battling injuries once more. Bella-Kotchap is still young but perhaps it’s best for the Saints to sell him permanently to make a profit on the £10 million they spent on him almost two years ago.
