Manager breaks silence on Southampton's £2m transfer bid | OneFootball

Reading FC boss Noel Hunt has opened up on Southampton's £2m offer for defender Andre Garcia. Hunt believes the offer is low as per the valuation they expect.

Recently, Southampton had shown keen curiosity in Reading's prodigy defender Andre Garcia. And why not it should be, given Garcia has been a solid everpresent link in his club's backline at just 17 years of age.

Naturally, to bag such a talent for the future, the Saints made a bid worth £2m for Andre Garcia. But, as it stands, the offer has been turned down, being unsatisfactory.

Manager breaks silence on Southampton's £2m transfer bid

While Reading boss Noel Hunt did confirm Saints' bid, he felt the valuation offered was far lower than expected.

If it wasn't enough to shock Southampton, chances are that Reading doesn't agree to Garcia's exit at all. That is per Reading fan pundit Johnny Hunt, who believes the club wouldn't sell Garcia easily now.

Speaking to Football League World, Johnny Hunt said: "I think with a week to go in the transfer we won’t need to sell him. We would definitely want to keep a young talent like that."

Clearly, this has been the worst-case scenario that Southampton could have expected. That leaves the club with two possibilities, either continue with the lot or agree to Reading's £4m demand.

Certainly, the Saints would want to proceed with the second choice all day. While their attack force is often criticised, Southampton's defense department hasn't been significantly better than their counterpart.

Having conceded the most times this season, the Saints' defence has let them down at crucial times. Further, with Kyle Walker-Peters and Charlie Taylor's exit expected soon, pursuing Andre Garcia is an important to-do thing for Southampton.