Southampton coach Hasenhuttl hails ‘important’ Salisu signing

Ralph Hasenhuttl has described the signing of Mohammed Salisu as ‘important’ as Saints strengthened their squad ahead of next season.

The 21-year-old centre back who was linked with a move to Real Madrid and Manchester United joined the Premier League outfit from Real Valladolid in a deal reported to be worth up to £10.9 million.

Salisu joined Valladolid from Ghanaian outfit African Talent Football Academy in 2017, and he has continued to grow.

In the 2019-20 La Liga season, he played in 32 matches as the White and Violets finished 13th in the log having garnered 42 points from 38 games.

The youngster will stay at St Mary’s Stadium until 2024 and his new manager is delighted to be welcoming the African, who he feels fits properly into his squad.

“This is an important signing for us, Mohammed is a player who fits our profile well,” said Hasenhuttl as reported by the Guardian.

“He is young and has a great amount of potential, but he is also someone who has the qualities to come in and help the team as soon as he is up to speed with our way of playing.

“I like what I have seen of him so far in his games with Valladolid. He is strong defensively, he is calm with the ball – something that is important in our team – and he has good speed too.”

“I think he will fit in well with us and this will be a good place for him to develop his game further. We have some good centre-backs here and this will be another strong option for us.”

Salisu becomes Southampton’s second signing of the season following the arrival of Kyle Walker-Peter from Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.

To him, agreeing to join the English team was not a difficult one because they have a track record of developing young players.

“It is a very good feeling to be a Southampton player. I am very happy to be part of the club and I am looking forward to starting here,” said Salisu.

“Southampton is a club with a very rich history in developing young players, so it is a very good club for me to develop my skills and to learn a lot as a young player.

“I know that the team expects a lot from me and I’m going to try to give all I can to help the team.”