Saints cut Osvaldo loose

In an announcement made earlier this afternoon, Southampton confirmed that they have terminated the contract of controversial frontman Dani Osvaldo.

Osvaldo, 29, has been released by Saints following a series of off-field controversies.

The Italian international appeared just 13 times for Southampton under the leadership of Mauricio Pochettino, scoring goals against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City.

However, it was his off-field antics that caught the headlines, with his eventual expulsion from Staplewood coming following a training ground scrap that left current captain José Fonte with a black eye.

Loan spells with Juventus, Inter Milan and Boca Juniors followed, but Osvaldo's career continued to be dogged by personal issues and off-field incidents.

His time at Inter Milan was brought to an end after Osvaldo had an on-field incident with teammate Mauro Icardi and an attempt to attack manager Roberto Mancini on the training ground, before moving on loan to Boca Juniors.

While he scored seven goals in his 15 appearances for the Argentine club, he continued to catch the headlines with reports of sordid orgies and domestic abuse.

Following the end of his loan spell with Boca, it was announced that the Premier League club have decided to bring an end to his turbulent spell at the club by opting to terminate his contract with immediate effect.

Osvaldo is now a free agent, with reported interest from Boca Juniors and Lazio.