Sofiane Boufal was not included in Mark Hughes’ plans for the current campaign at Southampton and allowed him to join Celta Vigo on a season-long loan deal in July.
Since moving on a temporary spell to Spain, the 25-year-old has made eight appearances in the league, scoring two goals and registering an assist in the process.
Despite featuring over 300 minutes in the league, the Moroccan international’s performance for Celta has managed to draw the attention of his national team coach, Hervé Renard.
The Atlas Lions host Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers and Renard stressed that Boufal could make a return to the side for the first time since March.
“I think because of his performance, Sofiane Boufal deserves to return. I know him better than anyone since I managed him at club level [at Lille].
“It’s good that he stayed a little out of the national team and I hope he will come back even stronger and with a slightly different mindset.”
Celta manager Antonio Mohamed has started to include the attacking midfielder in the starting XI in recent weeks as Boufal hopes to get regular minutes under his belt.
