Report: Leeds and Aston Villa to miss out as Southampton near Thierry Small deal

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Leeds United and Aston Villa are amongst the teams apparently set to miss out with The Athletic reporting that Southampton are confident that they are about to land Thierry Small.

Small looked set to be on the move after not returning to training with Everton at the start of the summer. He became the club’s youngest ever player last season.

And it would appear that the Saints are set to win the race.

According to The Athletic, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men believe they are closing in on sealing his signature.

That would be bad news for a number of clubs. The Athletic notes that Leeds, Villa and Chelsea were amongst the sides to have wanted the 17-year-old.

Southampton reportedly hope to agree a fee with Everton without going to a tribunal.

Huge coup for Southampton as Leeds and Aston Villa miss out on Small

It has been an interesting window at St Mary’s. Hasenhuttl has lost a handful of key men, with Ryan Bertrand, Danny Ings and Jannik Vestergaard all moving on.

But they do look to have done some impressive business also. Adam Armstrong scored a superb goal on his debut.

Toni Livramento has looked a revelation since his arrival from Chelsea. And Romain Perraud has made an encouraging start.

Signing Small would be a further coup. The Athletic notes that the Saints feel that he can immediately challenge for a first-team role.

It certainly says a lot that a number of Premier League sides will be disappointed if he does end up on the south coast.