Middlesbrough are braced for a fresh bid from Southampton for key star Finn Azaz, according to Football League World.
The 24-year-old has been a revelation on Teesside since joining from Aston Villa in January 2024 for a fee of around £2 million. It was his first full season where he came into his own, scoring 12 times in 45 Championship appearances during the 2024/25 campaign.
This led to speculation that he could exit the Riverside Stadium this summer and it soon emerged that Southampton were keen on the attacking midfielder. The Saints are looking to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking following their relegation in May, and have picked up four points from their opening three games.
Southampton Refusing To Give Up On Azaz
They launched their first assault on the player earlier this month, with the bid immediately rejected. Speaking last week, Boro boss Rob Edwards addressed the situation:
“We’ve had a bid from a club for Finn, and we’ve turned that down. We’ve rejected that bid.
“We’re really happy with the contribution that Finn made at the weekend – he was excellent when he came on. He’s trained well again this week and he’s available for selection again at Norwich.
“He’s been great, fully concentrated on the task at hand. He’s available for selection again this weekend, and that’s as far as I’m willing to go on it at the moment.”
Azaz missed the opening two matches of the season through injury but returned as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Millwall. He contributed an assist that afternoon and followed that by scoring in last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Norwich City.
It now appears as if his time at the Riverside Stadium could be coming to an end, with claims that Southampton will return to the table with a fresh offer before the transfer deadline next Monday. Previous reports state that Middlesbrough value the Republic of Ireland international at £12 million.
Writer’s View
It would be a huge blow to Middlesbrough’s promotion ambitions to lose one of their key players to a team which are also expected to challenge at the top end of the Championship. However, every player has their price and Azaz is no different. Still, if he is to leave the club, Rob Edwards will surely be keen to get the deal done sooner rather than later in order to dip into the transfer market before it closes next week. It’s likely that the club have already done their homework on potential replacements though.
