Eight-figure details revealed as Southampton's Nathan Tella set for Bayer Leverkusen switch | OneFootball

Nathan Tella has been subjected to a series of intense transfer speculation for quite some time now.

The winger proved instrumental in Burnley's return to the Premier League at the first time of asking as champions last term while on loan, scoring 17 times and laying on a further five goals from 39 appearances.

Indeed, only four players in the Championship recorded a higher goal tally as Tella emerged as one of the very finest forwards outside of the top-flight, prompting unsurprising interest.

Southampton, of course, have been keen to maintain his services on the south coast following their own relegation given what he has shown at this level, but that task has grown in difficulty.

Thus far, Tella has picked up where he left off and featured on the scoresheet in Southampton's 2-1 win away at Plymouth Argyle last weekend while playing virtually every league minute for Russell Martin's side.

However, they will now have to plan for life without Tella following his exit to Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen, who have beaten off a host of suitors to land his highly-coveted signature.

Southampton's Nathan Tella to join Bayer Leverkusen

According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, Leverkusen and Southampton have agreed on a deal for Tella, which is believed to sit at £20m with an additional sell-on clause included.

Tella will sign a five-year deal at the BayArena and is believed to be jetting over to Germany today after personal terms were agreed.

Xabi Alonso's side finished 6th in the Bundesliga last term, securing a place in the Europa League this time around.

Who else was interested in signing Nathan Tella from Southampton?

The same report from The Athletic informs that Rennes and West Ham United were also interested in a move for Tella this summer.

However, it does appear that Vincent Kompany made the most forward approaches, having been eager to reunite with Tella ahead of the Clarets' Premier League campaign.

It is reported that Tella himself enjoyed working under the Belgian's tuition and was happy to return to Turf Moor, but Southampton and Burnley were unable to meet on a figure.

A variety of bids were launched, the first of which is said to be in the region of £9.5m.

While it would come as a real shock if Southampton did not take their cash windfall back into the market and reinvest somewhat for a replacement, that likely will not happen instantly.

The Saints host QPR this afternoon, which may come slightly too soon for Ryan Fraser, who agreed a season-long loan to St Mary's just yesterday.

Meanwhile, young winger Sam Edozie looks nailed-on down the left-hand side, not Tella's preferred right, so it is hard to see Martin switching him over for now.

Kamaldeen Sulemana is another Southampton attacker that you feel could orchestrate a devastating impact in the Championship, but he has been injured during the off-season and may not even stay beyond the end of the month.

So, it seems as though a window of opportunity could be handed to Samuel Amo-Ameyaw.

The 17-year-old is held in a glowing regard in Hampshire and had a positive impact from the bench in the victory at Home Park, showing that he is capable of holding his own already in spite of his tender age and lack of experience.