According to Sky Sports, Southampton are interested in signing Real Valladolid centre-back Mohamed Salisu.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the 20-year-old defender has been scouted by ‘a number of clubs’ according to Sky Sports, and his relatively low buyout clause of just £10.2m makes him an ‘attractive prospect’ for those interested in him.
Salisu has made 18 appearances in La Liga so far this season, with 17 of them coming as starts – Real Valladolid currently sit 14th in Spain’s top-flight thanks to the defender’s efforts.
The Ghanaian won the WhoScored Man of the Match award for his performance in a 2-0 win over Eibar towards the end of October, and certainly seems like a highly-rated young prospect.
The man who discovered Salisu – Fran Castaño – spoke very highly of the young defender in an exclusive interview.
“He has an impressive physique, he is technically good. He plays as central and left-handed, which is something we value very much Then we talked with him and his family and discovered that he was the type of person we want.”
Would give Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek something to think about
Since that 9-0 defeat to Leicester, Ralph Hasenhuttl has settled on a consistent backline that includes Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens alongside each other at centre-back.
The duo have performed well, helping the Saints record five wins and two draws in the 11 games since that embarrassing defeat, keeping two clean sheets in the process.
It does seem as if the duo are Southampton’s best available centre-back partnership, although given how highly-rated Salisu appears to be – Manchester United are also interested in the Ghanaian – it feels as if he would give Stephens and Bednarek something to think about if he did arrive at St Mary’s.
The likes of Maya Yoshida and Jannik Vestergaard seem to have fallen well out of favour under Hasenhuttl, with the Japan international playing just five minutes of football since that 9-0 defeat, while the latter hasn’t played since November 9th and Southampton are reportedly willing to let him leave on loan.
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So, with those two failing to provide adequate competition for Stephens and Bednarek, Salisu and all of his talent could well give the pair something to think about for a change.
In other news, these Southampton fans have piled the praise on this man who “looks a different player”…
