Southampton left-back Romain Perraud has revealed that negotiations with Leeds United suddenly ‘came to a halt’ before he arrived at St Mary’s in 2021. Perraud was being chased by both Southampton and Leeds while playing for Stade Brest in Ligue 1 during the 2020-21 season. The 25-year-old let his agent deal with the negotiations in order to focus on his football, but Perraud says Leeds opted to pull out, and instead signed Junior Firpo from Barcelona.
Romain Perraud said: “In January-February 2021, I was approached by Leeds and Southampton. From then on, I let my agents take care of it. For my part, I try to focus on what I have to do with Brest. My first mission was to leave Stade Brestois in Ligue 1. Afterwards, everything went well, the exchanges accelerated towards April. It was a very stressful end to the season. Leeds contacted me first, but negotiations came to a halt quite suddenly. Southampton were very keen and I was immediately attracted by the project. The club seemed to me to be structured, rather healthy, and the philosophy of play corresponded to me. Then the club’s scout told me that he had seen me play 52 times, which gave me confidence.”
Perraud penned a four-year contract with the Saints and has made 37 appearances across all competitions for the club. Despite Southampton’s struggles this term, the former France U21 international has started to play more frequently. He scored his first two Premier League goals against West Ham and Newcastle in October and November respectively, and has featured in 13 of Southampton’s 15 league matches.
