European outfit closing in on Southampton defender | OneFootball

Despite the mountain of interest that is surrounding their first-team players from last season, Southampton are yet to really cash in on any of their stars this summer.

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The Saints are poised for a bit of a rebuild under new head coach Russell Martin, and they have added Swansea City left-back Ryan Manning to their squad along with Man City teenager Shea Charles for a fee which could rise to £15 million.

The outgoing front has been quiet though, with just Mislav Orsic from last year's squad moved on on a permanent basis to Trabzonspor of Turkey - but it is still early days in the summer window with well over a month to go until it closes.

One player who has been attracting interest is Brazilian defender Lyanco, who has been at St Mary's Stadium for two years since a move from Torino in August 2021 for around a fee of £7 million.

What is Lyanco's current situation with Southampton

The 26-year-old would not be seen as one of Southampton's players that would command a significant transfer fee this summer, such as James Ward-Prowse, Tino Livramento and Romeo Lavia, but he is clearly a commodity, having played 36 times in the Premier League for the club.

He suffered a hamstring injury in his debut year on the south coast, restricting his time on the pitch to just 18 matches in all competitions, and he improved on that in the 2022-23 campaign by featuring in 30 games, with some of those coming at right-back.

With the likes of Mohamed Salisu and Armel Bella-Kotchap being linked with big-money moves away from the Saints, Lyanco could potentially be a starter under Martin this coming season, especially with two years remaining on his contract.

However, there has been links to clubs in Europe in the past few weeks, with Besiktas of Turkey incredibly interested in his services.

Fenerbahce closing in on Lyanco signing

It now appears though that their Istanbul rivals in the form of Fenerbahce could be ready to swoop instead though, if reports are to be believed.

According to a report from Fanatik, Fenerbahce, who finished second behind Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig in 2022-23, are closing in on an agreement to bring Lyanco to the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

It is said that Fenerbahce want Lyanco to replace Hungary international Attila Szalai, who could be heading on his way to Germany to Union Berlin, and that final details are being discussed with Southampton in regards to getting a deal done.

The fee that Southampton could get for Lyanco is somewhat of an unknown, but they'd be surely looking to make a profit on his services.

They reportedly sent £7 million to Italian outfit Torino to sign him two years ago, so anything in the £7.5 million or higher region would have to be considered somewhat of a success for the Saints.

Until a deal is signed, sealed and delivered though, then there is every chance that Lyanco will be a part of Russell Martin's squad for the upcoming campaign as the transfer market of course can be at times very volatile.