Southampton: Defiant Elyounoussi prepared to fight for Saints place
By Marc Walker
Southampton’s Mohamed Elyounoussi has said that he wants to stay with the club and fight for his place after a difficult first season in England.
Speaking to Norwegian media outlet Adresseavisen, the winger spoke about his experiences in the Premier League so far and maintained that he is up for the task.
Spells in and out of the team have seen the 24-year-old make just seven league starts during the current campaign and he is yet to score for the Saints.
In the interview (English translation via Sports Witness), he said:
"“I have to try to find positive things every day, thinking that I can grow on the adversity, and fight my way back into the team. I’m quite honest when I say it’s like that. They see that I have skills and am important player for the club. But I need more time to develop and take the physical level required in the Premier League.”"
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Elyounoussi has not started a Premier League game for three months and has found game time harder to come by under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
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He was signed by former Saints boss Mark Hughes in the summer and got fans talking about the creativity he could bring to the side when replacing Dusan Tadic.
His record for previous clubs Basel and Molde were superb. 176 games across spells with both sides has yielded 65 goals and 38 assists, and he had performed well in Champions League games in the past.
However, his first campaign has not lived up to expectations and he will need to work hard to prove that he can provide something for the Saints team in their final eight games of this season.
One particular quote from Elyounoussi stands out and potentially underlines his professional attitude though:
"“I’ll stand here, I’ll show what I can do, I’ll turn this around.”"
Comments like this from the Norwegian will be pleasing for Hasenhuttl to hear as they confirm that he will stick at it and try to impress despite a disappointing first eight months in England.
Commitment to the cause would seem to be a big thing for the current Saints manager, who has already shipped off first-team players such as Cedric and Wesley Hoedt on loan deals.
For now though, Elyounoussi’s focus will momentarily be on getting back to some form with Norway in two tough upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Spain and Sweden.