Southampton: Djenepo makes big claim about what he wants to achieve

Southampton winger Moussa Djenepo has made a big claim about his future aspirations despite his young age.

Saints signed the Malian from Standard Liege last summer and he has shown some promising signs that he will become a big talent as he develops at the club.

Now he has claimed that he wants to become a better than former Saints man Sadio Mane, who has gone on to become one of the best players in world at Liverpool.

Speaking to talkSPORT, the 21-year-old said:

"“Sadio is a big inspiration for me. I like him, he’s a very big player.“But I think I can be better [than him] if I work hard. Sadio is a very big player, and I’m young and I need to learn more. In the future we will see. I will do my best to become the next Sadio Mane.”"

This is certainly a confident claim from Djenepo who clearly shows that he has great belief in himself.

He still has a very long way to go to match Mane’s efforts but could not have chosen a better club to be at right now.

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Saints and Ralph Hasenhuttl have a track record of giving young footballers their first steps into the senior game and this is likely to continue over the next four years.

Djenepo has contract at St Mary’s that runs until 2023 and Hasenhuttl’s new four-year deal sees him tied to Saints until 2024 – meaning that Djenepo has every chance to develop hugely under his manager’s guidance.

20 appearances on the South Coast so far have yielded two special goals and two notable assists, but obviously Saints will see him as nowhere near the finished product just yet.

To reach Sadio Mane’s levels at Saints and in the Premier League though, he will know the levels he has to reach.

75 games in two years at St Mary’s saw Mane chip in with 25 goals and 14 assists – becoming one of the most creative and unpredictable forces in the league in the process.

This earned him a £37m move to Liverpool where he has gone on to score or assist 111 goals in 161 appearances.

Realistically, Djenepo should not be under pressure to reach these levels of performance at all.

It is impressive that he has such high goals in the game though and the fact that he wants to follow in Mane’s footsteps should hold him and Saints in good stead.