Spanish expert Euan McTear believes that Southampton target Jorge De Frutos had a better season than Nathan Redmond.
Saints reportedly opened talks with the Levante winger earlier this year but face still competition from Real Madrid as they look to add more quality to their squad following their wretched end to the campaign.
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The 24-year-old has only been with the minnows for one year, but certainly caught the eye during his first full season in La Liga.
De Frutos scored four goals and added nine assists from his 37 league appearances and managed eight goal contributions across a 10-game spell at one point, including the clincher in a shock victory at champions Atletico Madrid.
His nine assists was the same amount that the great Lionel Messi achieved, making him the one of the most creative players in Spain last term.
Meanwhile, Redmond managed just five goals and assists from his 29 Premier League outings, meaning De Frutos comfortably outshone the man he could potentially replace at St Mary’s.
But McTear told This is Futbol that De Frutos is far from the finished article and therefore still needs to prove himself:
“Redmond had a pretty poor season by his standards, and De Frutos has his breakout year, so maybe you would want to see another season to see if he was a one-season wonder, there is a risk of that.
“He’s a late bloomer. Redmond has been solid for a while, so you don’t want to jump the gun too much but judging by last season he was better than Redmond.”