Reports last month suggested that Celtic had set their sights on making Mohamed Elyounoussi’s loan move from Southampton permanent.

The Norwegian, who has scored 13 goals in 37 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions this season, reportedly had his valuation slashed from £8-10m last summer to just £5m ahead of a summer deal.

Southampton return on the cards?

However, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has appeared to have opened the door to a St Mary’s return for the 26-year-old.

Talking to Hampshire Live on Friday, Hasenhuttl was asked asked if returning loan stars like Elyounoussi could be the answer to his lack of attacking squad depth, to which the Austrian said:

"You can be sure that we have a few players in our mind, yes."

Transfer Tavern take

Elyounoussi has fallen out of favour in recent months, starting just one of the club’s last eight league fixtures.

He’s proven his quality during his two-year loan stint in Scotland, though, with this season’s highlights coming in a 2-2 draw with Lille and 4-1 win over Motherwell.

His current Transfermarkt valuation stands at £10.8m, so if Celtic could bring him to Parkhead permanently for under half of that, it could prove a real shrewd piece of business.

However, by the sounds of it, the versatile attacker could be on the way back down south.

In other news: Celtic are keen on talking with 18-year-old winger, find out more here.