Southampton’s Armel Bella-Kotchap is on Bayern Munich’s list of potential summer targets, says Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg, with Borussia Dortmund also considering a loan swoop for the Saints man.
Bella-Kotchap, 21, joined Southampton from VfL Bochum last summer. He signed a four-year deal with the Saints paying a reported fee of just £10million for the youngster, who went on to play 24 times in the Premier League last season.
He impressed, and he’s been in transfer headlines throughout this summer. But the latest comes from Sky Sports reporter Plettenberg who has revealed on Twitter that the Saints centre-back is on Bayern Munich’s transfer radar ahead of the September 1st deadline.
German rivals Dortmund are also keen, though they’re looking into a potential loan move for the Southampton man.
❗️🆕 Armel Bella-Kotchap is on the list of #FCBayern! Bosses have inquired about the 21 y/o German national as he’s a versatile defender. Internal discussions took place.
➡️ ABK has not yet a total verbal agreement with #BVB; Dortmund is considering a loan move. @SkySportDE… pic.twitter.com/PEki6m2f6j
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 22, 2023
Several Southampton first-team players have already secured moves away this summer, with James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia bing the obvious ones; though names like Che Adams and now Bella-Kotchap also look like they could seal moves away before September 1st.
Loan exit for Armel
Bella-Kotchap remains under contract for a few more years, and he showed a lot of promise in the Premier League last time round, so it might be understandable that the Saints would prefer a loan exit for him; especially with transfer interest not as rife as it was in say Ward-Prowse or Lavia.
Should Russell Martin guide the club to promotion, Bella-Kotchap could return and play another top flight campaign, but whether he does leave on loan or on a permanent basis this summer remains to be seen.
A move to either Bayern or Dortmund would be a very exciting option for the player and so he could yet try and force a move knowing that there’s this kind of interest in him.
Southampton return to action v QPR this weekend.
