Get to know more about Southampton's latest signing, Sofiane Boufal with five things you may not have known about the 22 year-old.
1. Boufal won the Marc-Vivien Foe Award for the best African player in the French Ligue 1 at the end of the 2015/16 campaign. The Moroccan international became the fourth player from Lille to win the award since its inception in 2009, following on from Gervinho (2010 and 2011) and Vincent Enyeama (2014).
2. The attacking midfielder could have represented France, having been born in Paris, but he opted to represent Morocco at international level. He made his debut for Morocco in March 2016, starting a 1-0 victory against Cape Verde.
3. Boufal was handed his debut at the age of just 18. Playing for Angers, having progressed through their youth system, he came on in the closing stages of a 1-0 loss to FC Istres. His first start came a season later, this time in a 4-2 win against the same opponent.
4. The attacking midfielder has a real eye for goal. The 22 year-old finished the 2015/16 campaign as Lille’s top scorer in all competitions, netting 11 in Ligue 1 and one in the Coupe de la Ligue.
5. Boufal becomes the fourth Moroccan to join Southampton. Hassan Kachloul was the first to become a Saint in 1998, before Tahar El Khalej joined in 2003. The last Moroccan to feature for the club was Yousssef Safri, who joined in 2008.
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