Record £16m Southampton FC deal looked class but it was a flop: View | OneFootball

Southampton were flying high when they broke their transfer record to bring in Sofiane Boufal in 2016.

The Saints had just finished sixth in the Premier League and new manager Claude Puel, who replaced Ronald Koeman that summer, wanted to add star power to a hard-working team.

With Sadio Mané and Dušan Tadić already in their ranks, Southampton possessed plenty of creativity.

But the pair's respective game was underpinned by their work out of possession, and whilst Boufal showed glimpses of his ability with the ball, he was unable to replicate the work rate of Tadić and Mané and ultimately struggled to be relied upon.

Arriving from Lille for an estimated £16m, plenty was expected of Boufal, who had helped guide the Ligue 1 outfit to the Coupe de la Ligue final, where they eventually lost to PSG.

Boufal scored 11 goals for Lille the season before arriving at Southampton, and his trickery and eye for goal had earmarked him as one of the brightest young playmakers in Europe.

Boufal never settled in England, though, and returned to Ligue 1 with former club Angers in 2020, having made little impression on Southampton's fans.

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Few could doubt Boufal's ability. A quick and nimble winger, the Moroccan could dance past defenders before finishing with unerring accuracy.

His problem lay in his inconsistency. Boufal scored just five times across three seasons at Southampton, and whilst he showed moments of magic, such as his solo goal against West Brom, he lacked the physicality and work rate to make things happen consistently.

Having played fleetingly during his first two seasons at Southampton, Boufal left for Celta Vigo on loan, playing regularly but still struggling to find the sort of form that made Southampton part with a club-record fee.

Upon his return, Boufal struggled to stake a claim for a starting berth and failed to score in 20 appearances before leaving for France the next summer.

Boufal arrived at Southampton in the same summer as Puel, who had joined from Ligue 1 side Nice and had seen first-hand Boufal's breakout season with Lille.

Puel, though, was gone by the end of the season, despite the club finishing eighth and reaching the League Cup final.

Mauricio Pellegrino came in but was sacked with seven games left of the season, as Southampton slipped towards the relegation zone and when authoritarian manager Mark Hughes arrived to steer the Saints clear of the drop, Boufal fell further down the pecking order.

Hughes sent Boufal to Celta Vigo the following season, but the Welshman would not be at the helm when Boufal arrived back on the south coast.

Ralf Hassenhutl had taken charge of Southampton whilst Boufal was out on loan and his regimented 4-2-2-2 formation relied on hard running and structure.

This didn't suit Boufal, whose style of play revolved around freedom and the ability to make mistakes in the pursuit of perfection.

Boufal unsurprisingly lasted just one season under Hassenhutl before joining Angers.

Back in France, Boufal found his feet again, becoming the creative fulcrum of Angers' side before making the move to Qatar in 2022.