Southampton’s resident bad-boy continues to grab headlines. Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, a record signing for the Saints last season, left Roma amidst a host of discipline issues, issues that also saw him kept out of the Italy national team. He then fell out of favor with his new club after headbutting his own teammate.
Now he’s gone missing for Southampton preseason training. The Saints began their preparation for the 2014-15 Premier League season two weeks ago, but Osvaldo missed out due to medical reasons. He even had a doctor’s note.
But the forward’s excused absence only extended to last Sunday, yet Osvaldo is still nowhere to be found. It seems, however, that the club are aware of the reasons behind his absence and have given their approval -- even if they’re not sharing the story.
It seems likely, however, that Osvaldo’s lack of training with the club gives further reason to believe that he’s played his last game with Southampton. He was already listed as available for transfer back in January, after headbuttting teammate José Fonte -- in fact, many suspected he’d done it just to engineer a move away from the club.
To an extent, it worked. Osvaldo went back to Italy, joining Juventus on loan. But with few league starts and just one league goal -- against former club Roma -- the bianconeri declined to make the move permanent.
Now Southampton must find a willing buyer. The club paid around $22m just last year, but between Osvaldo’s reputation, the headbutt and his disappointing season, they will be lucky to find a team willing to pay even close to that. Internazionale are interested, but they are holding out for a loan, with the option to buy at the end of the season.