Southampton have completed the signing of Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu on a five-year contract.
The 20-year-old moves to St Mary's for a fee believed to be in the region of £12m, which could rise to £15m, and he becomes Ralph Hasenhuttl's first signing of the summer window.
Bazunu will now get the chance to test himself in the Premier League after enjoying an impressive loan spell with League One outfit Portsmouth in 2021-22, keeping 16 clean sheets in 44 league appearances.
Speaking to the club's official website on his arrival, Bazunu said: "I'm delighted to be here. It's been in the works for a few weeks and I'm really happy that we've got everything over the line, and I'm just excited to see what's ahead.
#SaintsFC is delighted to announce the signing of Gavin Bazunu from @ManCity on a five-year deal! 😇
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) June 17, 2022
"I feel like it's a place I can come and develop and learn my game. The biggest thing is opportunity – the fact that I can come here and have a chance to play regular football. Just to be given that opportunity to fight for my place is the biggest thing that I could've asked for."
Hasenhuttl added: "As a club, we are always on the lookout for young talent and Gavin is a very exciting addition to the squad. We believe he has tremendous potential to improve and will give us great competition for places in the goalkeeping department.
"He is a goalkeeper with a very modern style of play, comfortable in the build-up phase, who has developed physically through some very important loan moves early in his career.
"He is already an international goalkeeper, which is very rare for his age. Coming from Manchester City, we know he has learned from some of the very best coaches and teammates, and coming here gives him more opportunities to develop his game through playing in the Premier League."
Bazunu joined Man City from Shamrock Rovers in the summer of 2019, but he was unable to make a senior appearance for the club.
The youngster has, however, represented the Republic of Ireland national team on 10 occasions and is regarded as a first-team regular under head coach Stephen Kenny.
Bazunu could make his Southampton debut away against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the Premier League season on August 6.
Oliver Thomas
