Southampton: Rachid Ghezzal – bargain or rightfully cheap?
By Chris Hughes
Southampton have been strongly linked with Monaco’s Rachid Ghezzal in the past few days, but he is really worth signing?
The Saints are in desperate need of another winger and striker before the season begins, and it appears they have their sights on Algerian international Rachid Ghezzal. The Monaco man has been given permission by his club to leave a pre-season camp following an apparent bid from either Southampton or Leicester City.
The deal in question would potentially be as low as £4-5 million, which is pennies in today’s market, however the elated reaction from Monaco supporters following the news that Ghezzal may be on the way out is quite concerning.
On the positive side of things, Ghezzal does offer something different to what the Saints already have down the right. Currently, it seems like the first-choice winger down that flank will be Nathan Redmond, with fans hoping that he can be less predictable when he doesn’t have to cut in every single attack.
Meanwhile, the Algerian is indeed left-footed, meaning he would be looking to cut inside, offering something different to Redmond who will potentially be more direct this campaign.
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Furthermore, whilst Redmond is more naturally pacey, Ghezzal is a winger who is more dribble-orientated and partial to facing up against his defender rather than trying to outdo him in a straight line.
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Irregardless of recent form, the 26-year-old is technically-gifted and at £4-5 million, could prove a bargain. Granted, after narrowly avoiding relegation the Saints shouldn’t be looking to be shrewd, but the lower the investment, the lower the expectations. From pre-season, Southampton’s most impressive player so far has been the cheapest – Stuart Armstrong.
If Ghezzal could somehow replicate some of his 2015/16 form – where he scored ten and set up a further nine in all competitions – then Southampton’s modest investment would look smart in the grand scheme of things. In reality, it seems like a risk-free investment and would add depth to a fairly weak area of the pitch.
However, despite being risk-free, it would still be a huge gamble. This is because if Southampton are to pursue the Monaco winger, it’s unlikely that they will sign another winger, and in reality it would leave the Saints without much goal-threat from out wide.
Whilst Mohamed Elyounoussi can hopefully provide both goals and assists, Redmond is inconsistent at the best of times and Josh Sims simply isn’t experienced enough. Truthfully Southampton should be looking for a more direct player similar to Redz, such as Filip Kostic or the Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron.
Despite showing some serious promise during that 2015/16 campaign, Ghezzal has frankly been pretty poor since, joining Monaco for free last summer and scoring just twice in 26 games this season.
Saying that, the fact that Leonardo Jardim’s side are willing to part ways with the winger after just over 12 months at the club speaks volumes in itself, not to mention the fact that supporters seem thrilled at the possibility of him moving on.
In reality Ghezzal may show moments of sheer quality, but 16 career goals from over 150 appearances is really poor showing from an attacker, especially when you consider than ten of those came in that 2015/16 season. This would be slightly more excusable in a more physical league, but Ghezzal is has been playing for two of the top teams in a much less competitive division.
The reality of the situation is that Southampton have also not had a huge amount of success shopping in France, with notable acquisitions Sofiane Boufal and Guido Carrillo having both been loaned out this summer. Jeremy Pied did OK when call upon, but was never good enough to be first-choice right-back.
To conclude, a move for Ghezzal would 100% be a gamble by Mark Hughes and the Southampton board. If the Algerian was to somehow thrive then for such a small investment, it would prove a great deal. However, whether he starts ahead of Redmond or not, he doesn’t seem like he’d be able to deliver regularly enough. Only time will tell whether the Saints see differently or not.