Ivan Juric's strange Southampton decision hints £8.6m defender's summer transfer | OneFootball

Southampton boss Ivan Juric hinted about testing defender Armel Bella Kotchap against Burnley. Still, he didn't play. With no game time recently, is a summer exit loading for Bella Kotchap?

How often does a young defender have just cameo minutes over 6 months? Surely, it's a rare occurrence, but for other European clubs. This is Southampton, where strange things are quite common.

By now, you must have understood, that we address the strange case of defender Armel Bella Kotchap.

Arrived for an appreciable fee of £8.6m in 2022, Bella-Kotchap still awaits a Premier League appearance this season. But it wasn't like this always.

In his debut season, he encircled the starting lineup regularly, but his precedence fell rapidly since a PSV loan return. Sadly enough, never again backed by ex-boss Russell Martin, his situation still is the same.

Though boss Ivan Juric's arrival raised his comeback chances, he hasn't played till now. If this wasn't enough, a recent move by Juric has hinted that Bella-Kotchap isn't in his plans.

Ivan Juric's strange Southampton decision hints £8.6m defender's summer transfer

As quoted by the Daily Echo, ahead of the Burnley clash, Juric updated on the Bella-Kotchap situation, saying: "He's like one of the team, he's here, and if I think that he can play, he will play."

Now, with Harwood-Bellis and Jack Stephens unavailable, it was the perfect opportunity for Bella-Kotchap's inclusion. But, guess what, the 23-year-old didn't make it this time again.

On top of that, it isn't the first time Bella-Kotchap has missed a game after being tipped to start.

Honestly, everything feels like heading towards a permanent sale of him in the summer. Yes, not even a loan as had it been the case, he would've followed others past the exit this winter window.

Clearly, for now, Bella-Kotchap looks set to be a failed Southampton move down the line.

But as they say, never lose hope until it's over. Is there still a comeback written for Armel Bella-Kotchap at the Saints?