Southampton of England have placed a princely transfer fee of £6m on their Nigerian-born youngster, Michael Obafemi, who is attracting interest from several top clubs across Europe, megasportsarena.com reports.
With the buzz getting hotter over the Republic of Ireland budding international, The Saints aim to cash in on the frenzy, hence their well-articulated price, while also lining up an ambitious move in exchange for Adam Armstrong.
A report by The Mail Online added that Southampton slapped the £6m price tag on Obafemi in order not to lose him for free, as he enters the final year of his contract, with the 21-year-old now on just a year left with his current contract at St Mary’s
The report further disclosed that Southampton considered offering Obafemi in exchange for Armstrong after Blackburn Rovers made a strong bid for the Nigerian-born Ireland international forward,
The media fuss all started when he was substituted on against Tottenham for his senior debut in January, aged just 17 and 199 days, and in the process he became the second youngest player to appear for Southampton in the Premier League .
Only Luke Shaw, now plying his trade for lowly Manchester United, made his debut at a younger age, at 17 and 116 days, but Obafemi’s pace was among several points of praise from The Saints’ former boss, Mark Hughes.
Before now, the most famous Obafemi in football had been Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins, but they are not related, though the new kid’s older brother, Afolabi, is also a footballer.
Afolabi Obafemi came through the Leyton Orient youth ranks with Michael, but their careers have gone in different directions since.
After kicking about the lower leagues for a while, Afolabi landed at Wingate & Finchley, in the Isthmian League Premier Division, while his younger sibling makes a splash on the international stage.
Dramatically, before Obafemi’s 16th birthday, he was in the youth ranks at Chelsea, Arsenal and then Watford before landing at Leyton Orient, from where he was poached by Southampton.
He scored Southampton under-23’s second against Chesterfield in September 2018, in what was a catalyst for him to press on and catch Hughes’ eye, but Saint Mary’s could be set to wave good-bye to him.
Another British tabloid, The Sun also wrote: “The Premier League outfit are aware that Obafemi is in demand. There is strong interest from Blackburn Rovers in the 21-year-old.
“As he enters the last year of his contract, Southampton will not lose him for a cut price fee, which may make any transfer complicated.
“If Obafemi does leave in the summer on a free transfer, the Saints would go to a tribunal to determine compensation from the club that signs him. The forward has four goals in 32 games for Southampton.”
