Southampton Battle Bayer Leverkusen For Manchester City Forward

As the 2022/23 season fast approaches, it is hard to remember a summer in which such a major squad upheaval took place since 2017.

The obvious starting point includes the introduction of new signings Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega.

Several key players over the months in Raheem Sterling, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, and Fernandinho have also moved on to pastures new.

However, the same can be said for some of the club’s youngsters taking a major step forward in their careers by signing for sides in favour of senior football.

Names such as Gavin Bazunu, Romeo Lavia, Darko Gyabi, and CJ-Egan Riley spring to mind - all of whom have joined the likes of Southampton, Leeds and Burnley in the summer.

A gifted prospect that looks set to be added to this list is Samuel Edozie, whose move to Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen has been widely reported.

At one point, the transfer looked all but confirmed, with the skilful winger set to join former wide players at Manchester City that went on to sign for German clubs such as Jadon Sancho, Rabbi Matondo, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and Jayden Braaf.

As time passed, it seemed as if the move was stalling, leaving Edozie’s plans for next term in no man’s land.

However, a recent revelation suggested that the Englishman was alongside the Elite Development Squad during their pre-season camp in Croatia, while a final fee to sanction his sale was being agreed.

While one awaits to see whether the deal gets over the line, a new update has disclosed that the answer is simply not yet.

As per a report by Kicker, as translated and relayed by Get German Football News, a deal to sign Samuel Edozie from Manchester City is 'not anywhere close' to completion currently.

It has also been mentioned that a €6 million fee is the valuation set by Pep Guardiola’s side that Bayer Leverkusen must agree to pay in order to sign their attacking target.

One thing that can be assured is that both Edozie and Leverkusen remain keen on the transfer to come to fruition ahead of the new campaign.

However, additional reporting later on Monday revealed fresh interest closer to home in the young forward.

According to the information of reliable transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Southampton are now trying to hijack Edozie’s proposed transfer to Germany, with the Premier League side wanting to 'try until the end'.

Romano does however contradict the above information from German media, by reporting that Leverkusen have already agreed a fee with City, although Southampton are 'entering the race' at this late stage.

With only one year remaining on the Lewisham-born forward’s contract, it is likely that the Sky Blues aim to profit from his sale to add to their incredible profits in the ongoing summer.