Southampton early season review: Mohamed Elyounoussi
By Chris Hughes
Mohamed Elyounoussi arrived on the south coast this summer in order to add an injection of fresh creativity following the sale of Dusan Tadic to Ajax.
Southampton came in for criticism in June following the sale of the the Serbian playmaker, as despite his drop in form he was still the best creative talent in the Saints’ roster.
However the club confirmed the arrival of Elyounoussi just days later, with the Norwegian joining after an impressive spell in Switzerland having scored 11 and setup a further 15 in just 33 league appearances.
Since joining the Saints the winger has shown glimpses of the player we saw in the past campaign out in Europe, but we now need to see the 24-year-old kick on and provide more than just spirited performances.
Moi is yet to be directly involved in a goal from his four appearances, having played three times in the league as well as featuring in the EFL Cup win against Brighton.
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Despite this, we have seen some really good performances from the winger, especially against Leicester where he had two shots on target and was instrumental in the Saints’ best spells in a match they could’ve realistically won.
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It’s early days, but Elyounoussi has brought pace and versatility to the Southampton midfield, as we’ve seen him play down either wing and even behind the striker for periods of both pre-season and the competitive campaign.
Unlike the Saints’ previous wingers in Tadic and Boufal, there’s a sense with Elyonoussi that he knows when not to over-complicate things and when to distribute the ball – one of Boufal’s biggest weaknesses was that he tried to win games all by himself whereas with the Norwegian there seems to be more a selfless streak to his game.
However, as aforementioned, we need to see Moi take his game to the next level. He doesn’t appear to have taken long to settle so now we need to see him bring substance to his performances.
Granted, we’re unlikely to see the same goal contributions we saw from the winger at Basel, but to suggest he could finish with direct involvement in ten-twelve goals by the end of the campaign would be a fair target for the 24-year-old.
Nonetheless, Elyounoussi’s skillset combined with his apparent temperament offer Southampton fans optimism for the campaign ahead.