Reported Celtic target Ryan Fraser has agreed a deal to sign for Southampton. The English Championship side have moved to sign the 29-year-old from Newcastle United on a season-long loan after he was frozen out by Eddie Howe.
According to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, Fraser has agreed to join Russell Martin’s team after months of training out of the first team picture at St James’ Park.
Ryan Fraser is set to join Southampton on a season-long loan deal.
The winger has been training away from the first team group for months now #NUFC pic.twitter.com/9Hhb0PU4LE— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) August 25, 2023
Fraser was linked with Celtic after he left Bournemouth but no move transpired. The nippy winger is 29-years-old and still has a lot of football in him but Celtic clearly saw that there was little value in signing the player. In 178 Premier League appearances, Fraser has 18 goals and 35 assists.
Brendan Rodgers has said that he wants to bring quality in and as the transfer window looks to close, the manager wants to add in a number of key areas, especially given the exhaustive injury list at the club.
There seems little doubt the lad has talent, the question mark has always been whether he possesses the minerals for a scrap. He’ll be perfectly happy returning to the tranquil world of the south coast, and that explains exactly why he and Celtic would be ill-suited.