About a week ago, we covered a snippet of a Sofiane Boufal interview with beIN Sports shot over the international break where the player admitted the best was still yet to come.
Hindered by injuries throughout his first season in England, the Southampton forward revealed he felt he was made to play in the Premier League, and that, with the adaptation period now over, he was now ready to show exactly what he was capable of.
Always drawing inspiration from his idol, Javier Pastore, the Southampton forward also admitted to admiring a player you wouldn’t necessarily associate with someone who spends his time trying to dribble past people and finding someone in the final third: N’Golo Kanté.
He said: “He’s a player I like a lot and appreciate both as a man and as a footballer. He’s the top. Talented, works a lot, which is the key to success. I’ve learned a lot about the value of hard work. I’m someone who works a lot. I don’t speak a lot, but I progress in silence, and I hope it’ll show next season and for the end of this one.”
Exploding at Lille during his year and a half there, the 23-year-old became Southampton’s most expensive transfer in history last summer, yet remains modest and knows he will have to continue to improve if he wants to reach his career goals, eventually moving to a bigger club.
He said: “I’m not someone who’s going to big themselves up, and who’s going to directly aim for the top. I know there are steps to climb to reach the top of European football, to play in the biggest clubs and play in the biggest competitions. Of course it’s an objective.”
Boufal has made 19 appearances for Southampton this season, scored two goals and picked up an assist as he continues to settle into life in the Premier League.
