Southampton's Boufal training with under-23s after Hughes fallout

Southampton's former record signing, Sofiane Boufal, is training with the club's under-23 side due to an argument with manager Mark Hughes.

The winger was signed from Lille in the summer of 2016 for around £16 million but hasn't established himself a mainstay in the first-team lineup. The 24-year-old has fashioned just three goals and two assists in the Premier League since his arrival.

Boufal will not feature in the relegation-threatened club's massive match against Bournemouth on Saturday following the fallout, according to BBC Sport. It's believed the clash centres around Boufal refusing the warm-up during April 14's 3-2 home loss to Chelsea, and the warring words that supposedly followed in the dressing room.

"Unfortunately, Sofi made a mistake, which he acknowledged and he has acknowledged to me since," said Hughes. "At the moment he's training with the under-23s. He's missed a few days' training because he was ill.

"Given where we are at the moment he's probably best served training with a different group just to make people aware the situation we found ourselves in wasn't what should have happened.

"He understands that now. He probably needs to rebuild a bit of trust with us and his teammates."

Southampton is circling the plughole in the English top flight, four points adrift of safety with four matches remaining. Following Bournemouth's visit, the Saints meet Everton, Swansea City, and Manchester City to conclude the campaign.