How Finn Azaz feels about leaving Middlesbrough for Southampton as £12m switch mooted | OneFootball

Finn Azaz's stance on potentially leaving Middlesbrough for Southampton has been made clearer in a fresh update

Finn Azaz's future at Middlesbrough has been thrown up in the air amid a late expression of interest from Championship rivals Southampton, and the playmaker is now reportedly keen on the idea of moving down south to join Will Still's promotion-chasing side.

As reported via X on Thursday morning by talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, 24-year-old Azaz is "keen to make the move". This development comes after the Daily Mail reported just last night that Southampton, who have faced strong Premier League interest in prized duo Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes, are lining up a £12 million move for the talented attacking midfielder.

Azaz joined Middlesbrough from Aston Villa in a reported £2 million deal back in January 2024 and has established himself as a star performer at the Riverside Stadium.

The ex-Newport County and Plymouth Argyle starlet made an immediate impression by posting four strikes and five assists from his first 20 appearances in the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign, before scoring an impressive 12 goals - while setting up a further 11 - to prove his worth among the Championship's leading operators last season as Middlesbrough missed out on a play-off finish under Michael Carrick.

Southampton, meanwhile, have returned to the second-tier after just one dismal campaign in the Premier League, and are intent on returning to the promised land at the very first time of asking.

How Finn Azaz feels about leaving Middlesbrough for Southampton in fresh transfer twist

Following the Daily Mail's aforementioned report, which revealed discussions over a £12 million deal for Azaz, it has now emerged that the seven-cap Republic of Ireland international is open to leaving Middlesbrough for Southampton.

Talks over the move are ongoing, and it's said that Middlesbrough want "more than £10 million" in order to sanction the sale of Azaz to a potential promotion rival in Still's Southampton.

It's unclear just how eager Azaz is to make the move, and how exactly he would feel if he ends up staying put on Teesside, although Middlesbrough are clearly not standing in the midfielder's way.

Azaz missed Middlesbrough's 1-0 victory over Swansea City on the opening day through injury, but appeared from the bench to set up Delano Burgzorg in the 3-0 win at Millwall on Saturday afternoon.

Boro, who are second in the league table after two games, are next in action away to Norwich City this weekend.

Finn Azaz's stance on joining Southampton is a blow for Middlesbrough

The overall feeling at Middlesbrough is positive following a strong start to the season under new boss Rob Edwards and some encouraging recent activity in the transfer window, which has seen the likes of Sontje Hansen, Adilson Malanda and Manchester City wonderkid Sverre Nypan all arrive in the North East, although Azaz's stance on leaving for Southampton does represent something of a blow for the Teessiders.

They will end up profiting rather handsomely if a deal goes through, but losing a player of Azaz's quality and production at Championship level could threaten to undermine their ambitions of achieving promotion - especially to Southampton, of course.

He's a class act who has brought so much creativity and a considerable goal threat to this Middlesbrough side ever since his arrival, and he won't prove easy to replace under any circumstances.

Of course, every player has a price and Boro would surely look to reinvest any funds from his sale back into the market to source a replacement, but bringing someone in of the same quality could turn out to be a tall order.