Manchester City Looking To Match Chelsea's Buyback Valuation Of Star Youngster

After multiple sources claimed that Gavin Bazunu was headed for a £10 million switch to Southampton, several Manchester City fans took to social media to vent about the transfer.

With the 20-year-old showcasing why he is hailed as one of the most talented young goalkeepers in the world, after a stellar loan spell at Portsmouth last term, there was no shortage of Manchester City supporters that expressed their desire to witness the youngster play second fiddle to Ederson, and eventually turn out to be the Brazilian’s successor.

However, if there was one condition at which this disgruntled section of supporters would find Gavin Bazunu’s move to Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side acceptable, it would be if there was a buy-back option in place that could make his return to the Etihad Stadium possible one day.

The good news for this section of the club’s supporter base is that new details have emerged that could make this very dream a reality in the future.

Gavin Bazunu is on the verge of joining Southampton (MI News & Sport / Alamy)

As per a report by Alex Crook of TalkSport, it is understood that Gavin Bazunu’s transfer to Southampton is set to include a buy-back option that would allow Manchester City to initiate his return for a ‘significant fee’.

Further details claim that as the Premier League champions were ‘reluctant’ to lose the shotstopping prodigy, there was ‘no chance’ of them sanctioning his sale without the contingency option of a buy-back clause.

It has also been mentioned that a £40 million buy-back agreement may well be in place for the Sky Blues to prise him away from St Mary’s one day - similar to the fee in place for Chelsea to do the same with academy graduate, Tino Livramento.

As revealed by Alex Crook in a previous report, despite Manchester City’s intention to keep hold of the Irish international, he simply could not refuse the incredible career leap from being the number one from a League One outfit to an established Premier League side in the space of a single campaign.

While some may consider Manchester City as the losers in this deal currently, the inclusion of the buy-back clause means the club will eventually turn out to be the eventual winners.