This news will not be a surprise for Southampton supporters after Tella's name was not on the teamsheet for the game against Queens Park Rangers, however most will consider this a good piece of business given the performance of his replacement in this game.

Transfers are often part of a chain and when Ryan Fraser arrived at St Mary's on loan from Newcastle on Friday, it was fairly predictable that Nathan Tella would be leaving.

A year ago few Saints supporters were upset on his departure on loan to Burnley, in his 33 appearances in the Premier League for the club he had scored just once and although had shown promise, had failed to show consistency.

His time at Burnley saw him hit 17 goals and his stock rise and many hoped that he would be able to replicate that form, he didn't play badly in any of his games, but he was not explosive and even after Burnley had ceased any interest in signing him on a permanent basis, there was just the feeling that Russell Martin wanted something different in his team and that a good offer might just tempt Saints into selling.

So it was no surprise this morning when Southampton FC announced that Tella had signed for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. It seems that the £20 million fee was too good to resist.

It is a strange move in many ways, yes he is moving to a top European League, but it is a one sided competition with Bayern Munich dominating and having won it most years since the end of the last century. Although Leverkusen reached the semi final of the Europa League last season and therefore it is possibly the lure of European competition is the attraction.

But if Saints supporters were disappointed to see Tella's name missing from the teamsheet they were buoyed by the fact that Ryan Fraser newly loaned from Newcastle was on the subs bench and they would soon see that he could perhaps become a big asset to the team.

Good luck to Nathan Tella, we perhaps never many of his best games of his career so far, I hope he succeeds at Bayer Leverkusen and indeed wherever he goes, sometimes I think a football club knows when they have been offered more than the worth of a player and it makes sense to sell him both from a financial viewpoint and on the field.

Photo: Action Images

highfield49 added 10:22 - Aug 27 Good luck to Nathan in the German league. He shows ambition and faith in his own talent which are factors always likely to seek out new opportunities. Russell Martin must have been aware that Tella was not at SFC for the long haul so getting a decent fee before any signs of apathy crept in was good business. Ryan Fraser certainly isn't a lesser player and I get the feeling he's going to give everything he can at St Mary's to demonstrate to Newcastle what they have shunned.

1

Block8 added 11:31 - Aug 27 You've not been fair to him here Nick, he was a bit player who may have made 33 appearances but never in a run. As players that had cost a fair bit of money were played in front of him & quite obviously not very successfully? He proved he could play last season and we will miss him, as Burnley turned him into a goal scorer, goals are the gold medal over performance!
1

underweststand added 11:46 - Aug 27 Every player has a price ...and if a club is keen enough to want him they will pay that price. Arsenal and Chelsea have proven that in the last few weeks. Nathan came to us as an Arsenal reject and made his way through our youth sides and probably got less game time than he really deserved in a stop-start career between injuries. His loan to Burnley was a revelation and I for one thought they jump at the chance to buy him, but they appear too tight-fisted and now they have lost the chance, whilst spending much more on other targets. Only time will tell who got it right. Nathan may not be another " Bellingham " but if he succeeds in Germany, we may yet see him returning to the Prem. for a considerably higher fee, and I just hope we had a sell-on clause built into the deal.

1

Monksway added 13:47 - Aug 27 Sorry to see Tella go. The "Burnley" Version showed what a talented footballer he can be and his attitude this season indicates what a good lad he is. I'm sorry we never got to see him realise his potential in a Saints shirt. His departure shows where we currently are as a championship club that is financially struggling with relegation and the cost of three managers and some desperate transfers last year. Real credit to RM and his staff for maintaining positivity and getting results during this very difficult time. Our squad post deadline day will be a championship one but will hopefully be sufficiently competitive to have a top six season if not automatic promotion.

2

SaintPaulVW added 17:01 - Aug 27 It's a shame that all we get to really see is a return on an investment. Equally, it's also a shame that a player who was given another chance doesn't see a need to repay a club that backed him in a league where he did his best work for another club. Oh well, I can't blame him, a career in football can be short. Wish him all the best for the future. COYR
0

LoisDeem added 18:28 - Aug 27 Only Lavia currently ranks anywhere near Tella as the player we never saw the best of -I do hope it works out for both of them. I know SR have been scurrying around trying to get the best return on their commodity. Retrospectively, this along with the Adams decision could be a post PL penny pinching exercise we may live to regret. It seems to have crept into our MO in recent years that we sell off our guaranteed goals -and the cost could continue to be colossal. Otherwise, forgive me saying that never in the field of football comnflict have so many forgettable footballers been employed for so much and given so little. We have already forgotten some of them.

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Southampton Polls