Fabrizio Romano confirms multi-million pound Southampton FC exit is expected | OneFootball

Armel Bella-Kotchap was one of many players to leave Southampton following their relegation from the Premier League last season, and is expected to depart again this summer.

Southampton signed Bella-Kotchap in the 2022 summer transfer window from German side VfL Bochum in a deal that was believed to be worth £10 million. The centre-back played 26 times for the Saints in all competitions last season, obviously during a campaign that will want to be forgotten.

The Saints finished bottom of the Premier League, and relegation meant that they had to offload a lot of their high earners amongst the squad, in order to balance the books. This led to sales of some of their best players, such as: Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, and James Ward-Prowse.

Bella-Kotchap was another, with a deal running until 2026 at St. Mary's, meaning that he still has two years left on his contract this summer. The German started 24 Premier League outings as his side saw their 11-year stint in the top-flight come to an abrupt end. However, Bella-Kotchap was a bright spark in an otherwise dull season when fit and available.

Armel Bella-Kothap transfer latest

There were plenty of rumours surrounding Bella-Kotchap leaving Southampton for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, with German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund said to be interested. He reportedly has a release clause of £25 million, but in the end, it was not triggered.

Then in September, the centre-back secured a loan move for the season to one of the biggest clubs in the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven. However, his spell with the Dutch giants has not gone as well as anyone would have been hoping.

Since his move, the 22-year-old has only made six appearances in total for the club, being rarely used. Injuries have not helped his case, either, with the defender suffering a shoulder injury in October that required surgery, which kept him on the sidelines until February.

Fabrizio Romano is now claiming that the German is still expected to leave the club permanently this summer, and the injury issues have not seen his value diminish significantly. Bella-Kotchap will have had aspirations of retaining his place in Germany's national setup ahead of the European Championships, but his chances are slim-to-none after a difficult campaign for him personally.

Armel Bella-Kotchap's future

Naturally, after an injury-hit season, his value has taken somewhat of a hit, but he is still a central defender with enormous potential.

His athleticism and technical qualities should mean that he can reach a high standard one day as a player, but the move to PSV has proved to be a disaster due to that injury, with Bella-Kotchap now rooted to the bench,

Irrespective of promotion, Southampton are better off selling the young defender. He clearly didn't fancy the second tier and was minded to leave, given it will improve his chances of breaking into Germany's plans.

There is still every chance he plays regularly for Germany, but it won't be this summer.