Anyone who has been watching Southampton of late may have been wondering where their new centre back, Mohammed Salisu, has appeared from.
The young defender has suddenly emerged as a key part of Ralph Hassehuttl’s plans, establishing himself at the heart of the Austrian’s defence with several impressive displays.
It’s been a very sudden emergence from the Ghanaian, who had barely been seen since his arrival at the club in the summer transfer window.
Now he’s looking likely to be a key player moving forward, and El Desmarque state that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
They look at the player today and explain why he’s been missing so far this season, with it claimed that a ‘period of adaptation’ meant he hadn’t been given his shot at Southampton so far.
This period was ‘marked by different physical ailments’, and the ‘dynamics’ around the situation were looking ‘very negative’ for the player.
This was all a bit disappointing for Salisu, who was one of the ‘great sensations’ in Spanish football last season.
However, the situation has changed in recent weeks, and after making his debut in the cup against Wolves, he’s now managed 288 minutes in 13 days.
That saw him put in a man of the match performance in the recent draw with Chelsea and the Southampton man is now in a ‘great moment’.
It’s claimed he’s managed to ‘change his trend’ and ‘take advantage’ of Southampton’s poor form of late to clinch a place in the starting XI ‘unexpectedly’.
This, though, should not be surprising, with Salisu enjoying a history of rapid rises. For example, he only made his debut at Real Valladolid’s B Team in January 2018 and was with the first team a year later.
By August 2019, he’d already made his debut in La Liga, and by last summer, he was the biggest sale in the history of the club when Southampton paid £10.8m for him.
Thus, seeing the African as a ‘starter in a sudden dynamic’ is not ‘something new’, with the player accustomed to turning around his fortunes quickly, something he appears to have continued with the Saints.
