Southampton loanee Daniel Peretz has hinted he’d be more than happy to stay at the club beyond the end of his loan deal.
Transfermarkt have an interview with the 25-year-old today. He makes it clear that he’s loving life with Southampton as they aim for the Premier League.
Peretz joined Southampton on loan from Bayern Munich in the January transfer window. The deal includes an option for the Saints to make it permanent this summer.
That is something both parties would presumably be keen on, with Peretz establishing himself as a key player at St Mary’s since his arrival. To date he has six clean sheets in 13 games in the Championship and 10 goals conceded.
Too early for summer talk
He’s been key as Southampton push for a play-off spot. They’re currently sixth in the table, level on points with Wrexham in seventh.
For Peretz, a permanent deal would make sense if they return to the top flight.
“I think that would be logical. But it’s still too early to talk about the summer,” he said.
“My focus is really on the games right now. Hopefully, we can talk about it in two months, once we’ve been promoted to the Premier League. Then it will be much easier to answer that.”
€8m purchase clause
The current purchase clause is set at €8m, and when asked if he would exercise it personally, he refused to answer directly.
“I’m not the club, and there are a lot of possibilities depending on whether Southampton gets promoted or not,” he added.
“All I can say is that I’m really enjoying it here. But I can’t promise anything because nobody knows what the future holds. But I know we’ll have a clear situation at the end of the season.”
A perfect match
The reality is clear, though, Southampton and Peretz are a good fit for each other. The goalkeeper has gone from a backup role to undisputed number one with the Saints.
That is what he was looking for following a disappointing few years at Bayern Munich where he managed just seven appearances and 537 minutes in total. He’s already on 15 appearances and 1350 minutes for Southampton.
He’s delighted and admits he thinks that he and Southampton are very much the perfect match for each other.
“Yes, it’s a perfect match for both of us,” he concluded.
“I was at a point where I needed that influence to become the first-choice goalkeeper. I needed to play regularly. It’s a different feeling than just being the backup. I really needed that.
“With my experience and my character, I can help other players because we have a very young and talented team. I’m not that old myself, but I bring experience.”