Southampton set to complete £10.9m Mohammed Salisu signing as defender approaches end of quarantine after Real Valladolid exit in time to train with new team-mates on Monday
- Southampton are set to confirm the signing of defender Mohammed Salisu
- The Real Valladolid centre-back has been following quarantine rules since arrival
- The Saints agreed to meet the £10.9million release clause for the 21-year-old
Southampton are poised to confirm the signing of defender Mohammed Salisu – who has been following government guidelines and in quarantine following his arrival in England from Spain.
Southampton completed the deal to sign centre back Salisu from Real Valladolid last week after agreeing to meet the £10.9million release clause.
In line with coronavirus measures Salisu, 21, has had to undergo 14 days in isolation after travelling from Spain, where he underwent his medical before travelling over.
Southampton are poised to confirm the signing of defender Mohammed Salisu from Valladolid
The centre back has been following Government’s quarantine guidelines since arriving in UK
Premier League guidelines state no player or staff member will be allowed entry to their training ground following foreign travel unless they have followed all post-travel quarantine measures and provided a negative Covid-19 test result.
Centre back Salisu’s isolation is expected to end in time for him to join his new team-mates when they begin pre-season training next Monday.
The highly-rated defender, whose deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday, will follow £12m right back Kyle Walker-Peters as a new permanent arrival at St Mary’s.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg went the other way from Southampton to Tottenham in separate deal worth around £20m.
Tottenham have finalised the signing of midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton
Manchester City’s new signing, winger Ferran Torres, will also have to quarantine like Salisu following his £20.9m move from Valencia.
Torres will not join City in Portugal for the remainder of their Champions League campaign, which could continue until Sunday August 23, and is currently in Spain.
With Premier League clubs getting a minimum 30 days off between seasons, Torres will have sufficient time to see out his quarantine period before City begin pre-season training.
Clubs are keeping an eye on changes to the list of countries no longer exempt from UK quarantine rules.
On Saturday, Belgium joined the likes of Spain and Portugal and there are fears France will follow due to a rise in coronavirus cases.
The situation is not one that is expected to scupper any deals but some clubs are prepared for the prospect of new signings who arrive from affected countries missing the start of pre-season training to clear their quarantine period.
Man City signed Ferran Torres – but clubs are now keeping an eye on countries exempt from the UK’s quarantine rules
The travel restrictions have also given clubs cause for concerns regarding the holiday plans of their stars especially with the situation regularly changing and with little notice.
For example, Spain was no longer exempt from July 26, the last day of the top-flight season.
The decision was announced hours before the change came into effect when some footballers were either already in the country or had made plans to head there.
In a bid to avoid any issues some clubs simply urged their players not to leave the country during the close season unless it was essential.
Others advised their stars which countries to visit but also avoid. Though, as reported by Sportsmail in June, many players were planning to defy club advice and still head overseas.
Clubs accept their guidance was not enforceable and have been left hoping players took the guidance on board or, at least, avoided countries which would require post-travel quarantine.
Though there is a loophole for those travelling back to the UK as they can clear some of their 14-day period after visiting a country requiring quarantine by moving onto one that is exempt before heading back to England.