Mark Hughes Opts to Leave Out Big-Money Southampton Duo Ahead of Pre-Season Tour in China

​​Southampton have left Soufiane Boufal and Guido Carillo out of the squad that will go on tour in China this Summer, sparking rumours surrounding their future on the south coast.

Southampton boss Mark Hughes has named a thirty man squad that will travel out to China on Saturday where they are set to face off against German side ​Schalke and Chinese side Jiangsu Suning. There were no spots available on the plane for both Boufal and Carillo which reflects their indifferent form during the 2017/18 season.

Mark Hughes spoke about the upcoming tour (via ​Sky Sports) but he made no comment about the players who were left out.

"I'm quite excited and the majority of the guys understand exactly what I want, what my standards are and what I am asking them to do.

"The point is to get the majority of the guys back and we've got a few new faces as well, so that's always good to be together as a group for a certain length of time. It helps new guys to integrate. So we've got the benefit of a good three, four months work, going into the new season."

Carillo was signed in January in an attempt to add more firepower to a faltering front line, but he failed to score a single goal in his ten appearances and fell down the pecking order behind Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini.

Boufal has now spent two seasons with the Saints, but it seems as though he has yet to really acclimatise to the English game and barring a few moments of magic has been incredibly disappointing.

It seems as though both players will now no longer be a part of Hughes' long term plans and it seems likely that neither player will be donning the red and white come the start of the 2017/18 season.