Who is Sofiane Boufal and what will he bring to Southampton?

Fast, tricky and the ability to do the seemingly impossible, it's no surprise that Boufal has been likened to former Lille star Eden Hazard. The comparisons are easy to make but there is also a good degree of truth in them - Boufal has a low centre of gravity and can easily skip past a player before bursting away towards goal.

Capable of playing out wide or behind the striker, the Moroccan international loves to drift inside onto his right foot where more often than not he will take the shot on. Last season in the league he scored 11 goals. Hatem Ben Arfa was the only midfielder to score more (17) and even then he spent most of the season playing up front for Nice.

Boufal's eye for a goal can be a hindrance as well as a positive, at times last season for Lille he was too selfish, regularly choosing to shoot rather than pass to a team-mate who was in a better position. However Boufal would probably argue that he was often required to carry the team, hence his tendency to go it alone.

The hope will be that under Claude Puel, who will have watched Boufal closely last season, the player will take his game to the next level and will become more complete, registering more assists whilst still maintaining his high goal count.

In theory by playing for a superior team with better players there will be less pressure on him to do so much by himself but the real question will be whether or not Boufal will apply himself in the right manner to make these changes to his game.

If he does then Southampton could have a sensational player on their hands, and one who could move on in the future for a fee way in excess of the £34 million Liverpool paid for Sadio Mane.

As a goalscoring winger capable of playing as a No.10 Boufal appears the logical replacement for the Senegalese international but he's a different player. Boufal likes the keep the ball close to his feet and glide past players with his control, Mane uses his pace more to create openings for himself.

Puel has experimented with Nathan Redmond as a striker but expect Boufal to play on the left or as a No.10 and from there he will push high up to join the striker in attack. One thing is for sure, he will be ahead of Jay Rodriguez in the pecking order.

The question most will ask is why hasn't a bigger club made a move for Boufal, particularly given the interest from Arsenal and Chelsea earlier in the window. The answer probably lies in the fact that Boufal has been out for the entire summer with a knee injury, from which he is expected to back at the start of September. Knee injuries are always worrying but Boufal's potential is frightening and well worth whatever risk there may be.

Expect eyes to be raised when he inevitably moves on, as so many do from the South Coast, but for now this is very smart business from Southampton.