Southampton’s Executive Director, Les Reed, has explained why the club had to let Nathaniel Clyne go.
Liverpool announced the capture of the England international yesterday as he signed on a long-term deal.
He became the fourth player to be signed from the Saints in two years, following Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana in the same direction.
The right-back, who used to play for Crystal Palace, was at St. Mary’s stadium for three years and contributed to their Europa League qualification.
Reed states that a move to Liverpool had been on the cards for a while after Clyne indicated that he wouldn’t be signing a new contract. Speaking to the saintsfc.co.uk, Reed said:
“With Nathaniel’s contract entering its final year, it was important that his future was resolved this summer.
“With Cedric Soares now in place and it becoming clear that Nathaniel did not wish to extend his deal, we were keen to swiftly move on early in our pre-season schedule.”
The Saints had earlier completed the signing of Cedric Soares from Sporting Lisbon. He is expected to be a straight replacement for Clyne in that full-back position.
Reed added: “We have now been able to conclude our negotiations with Liverpool, and we thank Nathaniel for his efforts during the past three seasons.”
Clyne is expected to join his new team mates in their pre-season tour to Australia and Asia.
