Southampton flop Sofiane Boufal eyeing move back to Ligue 1 with Marseille and Nice interested

SOUTHAMPTON flop Sofiane Boufal is seeking a return to France – with his advisors offering him to three Ligue 1 clubs.

Saints paid Lille £16million for the Paris-born attacking midfielder in 2016 hoping he would provide the cutting edge the needed going forward.

Sofiane Boufal is looking to find a way out of Southampton this summer

His strike against West Brom last October was voted the Premier League’s goal of the season.

But that has proven to be a rare highlight in his career on the South Coast which has largely been one of struggle.

Boufal scored just twice in 30 games last season, and boss Mark Hughes froze him out following a bust-up in April as Saints narrowly escaped the drop.

Not it appears the 24-year-old is looking to find a way to engineer a move away from the club over the course of the close season.

Boufal had been a regular for Morocco in qualifying buy was left out of the squad for Russia 2018

Reports in France  suggest the Morocco international’s agents have asked Marseille, Nice and Rennes whether they would be interested in his services.

All three clubs are said to have been offered the opportunity to take him on a season-long loan or in a permanent deal.

Boufal was left out of Morocco’s World Cup squad following the disappointing end to his season.

That came as a major blow to the player, who was regarded as one of his country’s brightest talents when he first made the move to the Premier League.

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Boufal is now understood to be tempted by a return to the French top flight despite having three years left on his Saints contract.

He began his career with second-tier Angers, but took Ligue 1 by storm in his two seasons with Lille before moving to St Mary’s.

Saints boss Hughes is unlikely to stand in his way should he attempt to force his way out of the club this summer.

Hughes is planning a major overhaul of the squad he inherited from Mauricio Pellegrino, who was sacked with the club in desperate trouble near the foot of the Premier League.