World Cup 2018: Southampton star Dusan Tadic agrees terms to join Ajax in £17.5m deal
Attacking midfielder played an influential role in keeping Saints in the Premier League but is now set for a return to Holland
DUSAN Tadic is heading out the St Mary’s exit door with Ajax agreeing terms to sign the Southampton midfielder.
the Dutch club have reached an agreement with Saints to sign the 29-year-old for £17.5m on a four-year contract.
Tadic is away at the World Cup with Serbia but director of football affairs Marc Overmars and financial director Jeroen Slop have flown to England to see the deal over the line.
If the Eredivisie outfit land their man, the transfer will represent a club record purchase, overtaking the £13m spent on signing fellow Serbian Miralem Sulejmani in 2008.
Tadic has two years left on his contract with Southampton but is open to a return to the Netherlands where he previously played for Groningen and Twente.
He appeared in all bar two of Southampton’s league matches last season, scoring six goals and providing three assists as Mark Hughes men managed to keep hold of their Premier League status.
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Since arriving on the South Coast in 2014, the attacking midfielder has made 162 appearances, netting 22 times.
He played 83 minutes of Serbia’s opening game against Costa Rica which they won 1-0 thanks to former Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov’s second-half free-kick.
Southampton missed out on the signing of highly-rated midfielder James Maddison this week, who opted to instead swap Norwich City for Leicester.
They are also being linked with Red Bull Salzburg’s Mali international Amadou Haidara, although Tottenham and RB Leipzig are reportedly interested.