SOFIANE Boufal has joined his Saints teammates in Dublin.

The Moroccan international was given an extended break due to participating in this summer's Africa Cup of Nations.

Despite his return, Boufal is yet to meet with Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Hasenhuttl will return from China tomorrow and be given the opportunity to cast his eye over the playmaker.

25-year-old Boufal spent last season with Spanish side Celta Vigo after being shipped out on loan by former manager Mark Hughes.

There have been reports throughout the summer suggesting that a host of clubs are interested in signing him permanently, only for Saints' asking price to put them off.

The latest team to be linked with Boufal were French side Marseille.

L'Equipe in France claimed that the Ligue 1 outfit wanted to spend around £8m on the Moroccan international.

However, Saints splashed out £16m to land him back in 2016 and will be keen to recoup as much of their money as possible.

Boufal has proven to be an interesting topic of debate for Saints supporters this summer.

A section of fans want to see him given the chance under Hasenhuttl due to the Austrian's ability to be able to improve players as we've seen with the likes of Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse.

But then a group of other supporters would rather see him sold so that the club can invest the money elsewhere.