Dusan Tadic on the brink of leaving SouthamptonPeter Howard
Sports Reporter
DUSAN Tadic is on the brink of leaving Saints for Dutch giants Ajax in a deal worth around £15m. The Daily Echo understands Tadic will seal a move away imminently with the clubs close to reaching an agreement over the Serbia international. Tadic is said to be very keen on a move back to the Netherlands, where he has previously had great success with FC Twente and Groningen. The 29-year-old believes a chance to move to a club like Ajax will unlikely happen again if he doesn’t take the option now, with the playmaker, who will turn 30 later this year, ready to return to the Eredivisie after four good years in England. The two clubs are believed to have been in discussions for some time over this deal, with Saints pushing hard to get a fee they were happy with. The Daily Echo understands a fee of around £15m is close to being a agreed for a player Saints bought for around £10.9m in 2014.
Tadic was a major signing for Ronald Koeman and his attacking partnership with Graziano Pelle will be remembered as the highlight of his time with the club.
After two good seasons under Koeman things have been a little tougher for Tadic, who has often found himself playing in a tighter structure and with less attacking freedom, at least until Mark Hughes arrived and sparked the best from him again at the tail end of the last campaign.
Tadic has amassed an impressive 162 appearances in his four years for Saints, which goes to underline how important he has been for the club, scoring 23 goals, including seven in the last campaign.
He was top of the club’s Premier League assists chart too for his first three seasons at St Mary’s.
Tadic’s likely departure will leave a significant void that will need to be filled, but his sale will also free up another spot on the wage bill and generate more money to spend, with the club committed to reinvesting cash generated by sales back into the first team squad.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/16316890.dusan-tadic-on-the-brink-of-leaving-southampton/
