Parma set to hijack Southampton deal for Strasbourg’s Sylla | OneFootball

Parma reportedly have an agreement in place with Ligue 1 side Strasbourg to sign defender Abakar Sylla, who had been on the verge of completing a move to Premier League outfit Southampton on deadline day.

The Ivory Coast international had also been linked with a move to Lazio in January, but Parma have reportedly managed to fend off competition from the Biancocelesti and the Saints in order to secure his signature.

Parma beat Southampton and Lazio to Sylla signing

epa11072467 Abakar Sylla (L) of RC Strasbourg and Vitor Manuel (R) of Olympique Marseille in action during the Ligue 1 soccer match between RC Strasbourg and Olympique Marseille, in Marseille, France, 12 January 2024. EPA-EFE/Guillaume Horcajuelo

According to recent reports, Parma are set to sign the 22-year-old on a straight loan deal without an option to buy included, which means that he could still be available for a permanent transfer in the summer.

Sylla is set to become Parma’s fourth addition of the January transfer window, following the signings of Jacob Ondrejka, Mathias Lovik and Milan Djuric over the last few weeks.

The deal still needs to be completed before the close of the January transfer window, which will end at 23.00 GMT on Monday night.