Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has issued a hands-off warning to potential suitors of England international Jay Rodriguez – with Liverpool and Tottenham reportedly keen on summer swoops for the 25 year-old.
The winger-forward was the third-top scoring Englishman in the Premier League last season with 15 goals in 33 appearances and was in Roy Hodgson’s plans for the 2014 World Cup – until an ACL injury ruled him out of the tournament in Brazil.
That’s kept him out for the entirety of the current campaign but not stifled the interest of his many suitors. Liverpool, for example, were linked with a £20million bid in the January window by Mirror Football, whilst reports The Express claimed Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham were all considering winter bids as well.
With the Saints excelling in the former Burnley man’s absence, currently on course to record their highest ever finish of the Premier League era as they lay in sixth place, some have speculated the south coast outfit would be prepared to sell this summer.
But Ronald Koeman has denied those claims – as reported by Sky Sports – even suggesting Rodriguez could feature this season in Southampton’s final fixture against Manchester City.
“I hope that he can play a part in one of them maybe last one. Maybe it will be on one side a tough one (to return in) because it is Man City and he got this injury against them,” said Koeman.
“Of course I expect we don’t sell the player. The player didn’t play in my first season as a manager. He’s good guy, a positive one and a good player, and maybe that will be the best transfer what we can do for the next season,” he added.
Meanwhile, Liverpool and Spurs have been fighting over another winger this week. As reported by This Is Futbol, they’re both targeting Dnipro star Yevhen Konoplyanka on a free transfer.