Bologna chief resigned to exit of Southampton, Tottenham midfield target Mattias Svanberg

New Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio says it’s “impossible” to keep hold of Southampton midfield target Mattias Svanberg. 

The Sweden international looks set to leave the Serie A club, with just 12 months left on his contract.

Bologna had wanted to extend the deal of the 23-year-old, but the player seems set for a new challenge away from the Stadio Dall’Ara.

Tottenham have been linked with a move for Svanberg, who is an international team-mate of Dejan Kulusevski.

Fabio Paratici was reportedly looking at a deal in January. Italian outlet 1000 Cuori Rossoblu reports that Tottenham have renewed their interest in the player.

But, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Southampton have moved ahead and placed an offer on the table for Svanberg.

Southampton have reportedly placed an opening offer of €10m for the Malmo-born player.

It’s unclear whether that bid has been accepted by Rossoblu, but the club need to sell him this summer to avoid losing him for nothing.

“His agent and we have different visions. The renewal seems impossible and we’ll try to sell him at the best conditions for us,” Di Vaio told a a press conference on Tuesday, via Football Italia. 

Svanberg managed three goals and three assists in 36 games last term. Despite his years he is very experienced with 118 Serie A games under his belt.

He has also been capped 21 times by Sweden and has opened the door on a transfer.

“I can’t say much beyond what the newspapers write,” Svanberg told Expressen last week. “But I look forward to the summer. We’ll see what happens. I have no problem staying in Italy but I can imagine trying something new.

“It’s fun to be mentioned (as a target for other clubs). It’s something you get used to. We’ll see what happens. Nothing