Southampton have confirmed that midfielder Oriol Romeu has left the club to join Spanish outfit Girona on a permanent deal.

The 30-year-old departs following a seven-year stint at St Mary's, during which time he made 256 appearances and scored eight goals.

Romeu made 42 appearances for the Saints last season alone, including featuring in 36 of their 38 Premier League games, but he had entered the final year of his contract with the club.

The Spaniard has featured in just two of Southampton's games this season, and has now secured a move back to his home country with newly-promoted Girona.

"Southampton Football Club can confirm that Oriol Romeu has today completed a permanent transfer to Spanish side Girona," read a statement on the club's official website.

"The move brings to an end a wonderful seven-year spell at St Mary's for the midfielder, who has made a significant contribution to the club ever since arriving from Chelsea in 2015.

"Oriol departs with the very best wishes of everyone at Southampton Football Club, and we would like to express our gratitude to him for his dedication and magnificent efforts both on and off the pitch during his time here. We wish him every success in the future."

During his time at St Mary's, Romeu helped Southampton to their best-ever Premier League finish and to the 2016-17 EFL Cup final, being named both the fans' and players' player of the season in that campaign.

The defensive midfielder's new club have begun life back in La Liga with one win and two defeats from their opening three games, and Romeu could make his debut for the club against Mallorca on Saturday.