LAST UPDATE | 15 Jun 2022
GAVIN BAZUNU WILL become a Southampton player after Manchester City accepted a package that could be worth up to €18.5 million (£16m) for the 20-year-old goalkeeper.
The Republic of Ireland international will now undergo a medical today before finalising the move, and will then be unveiled by the Premier League club who have been in negotiations over his transfer for much of the past week.
The42 reported last Wednesday how City and Southampton were nearing a breakthrough over the deal, and that has now materialised with add-ons for Bazunu’s transfer meaning it’s a deal that has risen above the initial €11.5m (£10m).
Bazunu was named in the PFA League One team of the season following his displays for Portsmouth, while his emergence on the international stage has also brought him to wider attention.
With just two years remaining on his current contract with City, it is understood that Bazunu was keen to continue his progress by playing regular first-team football rather than become an understudy.
The departure of Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster to Tottenham Hotspur has left a void at St Mary’s Stadium, with the experienced Alex McCarthy also on the books.
Bazunu is now in line to become Ralph Hasenhuttl’s No.1 ahead of the new Premier League season, the latest juncture for what has been a rapid rise for Bazunu since breaking into the Shamrock Rovers side at just 16, having been involved in training with the first-team since the age of 14.
It was his emergence at Tallaght Stadium that led to City pouncing in 2019, and a successful loan spell with Rochdale in League Two also led to Ireland boss Stephen Kenny making him his first choice.
Bazunu missed the start of this Nations League campaign with a back injury but his move to Southampton is now set to be completed.