“Hit the right one” – Manager raving about Southampton man, optimism spreading from late deal

PSV Eindhoven’s delight at signing Armel Bella-Kotchap from Southampton has continued, with manager Peter Bosz now praising the defender.

Bosz has been commenting on the centre-back today in comments relayed by Algemeen Dagblad after the defender arrived on loan at the end of the summer transfer window.

Bella-Kotchap had looked likely to return to Germany this summer following Southampton’s relegation to the Championship last season.

He was, at one point, stuck in the middle of a tug of war between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, with the former working right up until the final minutes of deadline day.

That deal fell through, though, and he instead ended up securing a late move to PSV Eindhoven, who had been scouring the market for a replacement for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite for much of the summer.

The move has been widely praised since it went through, with several claims from the Netherlands that the Southampton man has been making very positive impressions early on.

Bosz has now added to that, admitting that he has been left more than impressed by what he has seen during this international break.

“I saw Bella-Kotchap on the training field for two weeks. I feel like we hit the right one. But a match is different from a training session,” he said.

“Football intelligence is my top priority. Next come the physical properties. We will have to get to know him even better to see if he has that football intelligence. What I have seen from him on the ball is excellent.”