Stade Rennes president Nicolas Holveck says his outfit are resigned to the fact Real Valladolid defender Mohammed Salisu will not be joining them in the summer transfer window.

The French Ligue 1 side showed strong interest in the highly-rated centre-back, however the 21 year old prefers a move to England.

FootballMadeInGhana understands that the Ghanaian international has agreed to join Southampton on a four-year contract with an official announcement expected soon.

Salisu joined Valladolid’s youth setup in 2017 and has made 34 first-team appearances.

“Unfortunately, we knew from the start, Salisu preferred the Premier League because he is English-speaking,” Holveck told RMC Sport.

“He told us very humbly, and we respect his choice, that the Premier League was his priority. We had doubts about his ability to obtain the work permit in England. It seems that he has acquired this permit.

“He would, therefore, be moving towards the Premier League. We were his first choice in case of non-obtaining of the license. Today, the position of central defender is the priority of our transfer window.”