Confirmed: Saints sign Dynel Simeu

This one has come literally out of the blue.

 

This sounds like a very good signing. No risk at all given it's a free transfer and he won't be paid huge wages. And he looks a real prospect.

 

Now lets beat Brighton to Livoremento., Dynel needs a friend...

 

Also, the fact that Chelsea offered him a new deal is a good sign.

 

Very happy to see this! Thought it was gonna be another player we’d miss out on from the academy exodus at Chelsea.

 

Might have to pay something after all.

 

Peanuts really if he turns out to be class.

 

It looks like this was a straight-up transfer, but if a player who is under 24 and out of contract signs elsewhere after being offered an improved contact by their parent club, you pay compensation. So he'd have never been truly free, but we likely agreed a fee with Chelsea rather than go through the Professional Football Compensation Committee, which can be...variable. Not as variable as it used to be (see: us inexplicably getting £400k or something for Oscar Gobern), but still a bit weird and inconsistent.

 

Be interesting to see how close to the first team he is likely to be this season. Might depend on Vestergaards future, but he could end up regularly on our bench this season. If he turned down Chelsea’s offer, presumably he wants a clearer pathway towards first team football and while there aren’t many less clear pathways then at Chelsea, we must have presented a good case to him to choose us over other PL clubs.

 

I would think, he was not going to get anywhere, Chelsea's match day squad.

 

He’s got hops.

 

Knowing Chelsea, they will try and buy him back in 3-4 years for about 30m.

Will get their own sell on fee as a discount

 

“I admired Portsmouth and Southampton because that’s all I knew, I always dreamed of becoming a footballer but my family and I never thought it was realistic, then when I got the chance everything happened quickly and it was unbelievable.” Dynel Simeu

Okay disregarding that lot, but this conjures the image of an almost Kaspar Hauser-esque football upbringing. Its very unusual in this day and age that somebody who is ambitious and dreams of becoming a footballer has such an local outlook when signed at 13 by one of the "big boys." Most kids seem to have a misplaced "loyalty" to the glamour club who's duvet cover and birthday cake they had when they were five years old

 

Solid signing with little to no downside for us and hopefully plenty of prospects for both parties. Very welcome!

 

Looking forward to seeing him out-jumping Calvert Lewin with one leg!

 

Never heard of him but seems like a very low risk move.

Sounds like the fee is based on appearances in the PL and if he is playing enough then £1.5m is nothing for a PL player and if it turns out he doesn’t play then sounds like we don’t pay anything for him anyway

 

Win Win really, I do wonder what the sell on fee is though!