Southampton are set to announce the signing of Gavin Bazunu from Manchester City in a deal which could go up to £15 million. The Irish goalkeeper has completed a medical and could be officially announced as early as today.
James Ducker of The Telegraph reports that the initial fee agreed between the two clubs for the 20-year-old is £12 million with add-ons of a further £3 million. In addition, Ducker stated that City have a buy-back clause and a sell-on clause, which would amount to 20% of the profit made on a future transfer.
With the departure of Fraser Forster, the Saints have made Bazunu and Alex McCarthy their two first-team goalkeepers, both of whom are expected to compete for the number one spot.
Bazunu was on loan at Portsmouth last season and with his 46 appearances and 17 clean sheets, was announced as the Player of the Year for the League One side.
The promising goalkeeper also featured in 10 Republic of Ireland games in which he saved Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty when the two sides met in Portugal in a World Cup Qualifier last September.
After the impressive performance against Portugal, Bazunu was determined to make more headlines when he said: “it's a nice thing to be able to go back to. But I just want to kick on and I want to have another moment like that”. Bazunu went on to perform incredibly for Pompey and has secured himself a move to the Premier League.
With a save percentage of 73.4% in 2021/22, a fascinating number when put in line with other world-class goalkeepers (Alisson's 69.6%, Edouard Mendy's 71.8% and Ederson's 66.1%), Bazunu has made his name as one of the best young goalkeepers in England.
Ederson however, does boast a pass percentage of 89.6%, a quality Bazunu is currently behind on (61%) and which is needed to play for Pep Guardiola's City. Despite this, the 20-year-old has a lot of time to focus on that aspect of his game, and a move to the Premier League will definitely help him to experience football at the top level.
In other news, 19-year-old goalkeeper James Trafford has re-joined Bolton on a season-long loan after starring for the Wanderers last season, where he amassed 7 clean sheets in only 22 appearances.
Written by: @MCFCNavii
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