Southampton: Saints now front-runners for defender with huge potential

Southampton have reportedly become favourites to sign Real Valladolid defender Mohammed Salisu in the summer transfer window.

According to SER Deportivos Valladolid, the player’s agent has halted negotiations with Rennes and will now look towards the Premier League, with Saints said to be ahead of two other top-flight clubs in the race to secure his signature.

Newcastle and Wolves and mentioned as suitors for the 21-year-old too, whilst other offers from Europe are rumoured too in a piece by AS.

Saints are in need of defensive additions after seeing the likes of Jannik Vestergaard fail to live up to his price tag and Maya Yoshida leave for Sampdoria in January.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s football philosophies involve developing highly talented young players and helping them reach their full potential, and Salisu would certainly fit the bill.

At 6ft 3in, the Ghanaian is a real physical presence at the back for La Liga side Valladolid and has some good looking numbers to back up his status as one of the hottest prospects in Europe.

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Via whoscored.com, we can see that he 1.4 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game. 4.9 clearances and 2.5 aerial duels won every time he plays also show a well-rounded defensive brain, whilst his passing success rate of over 80% shows he can play out from the back too.

His ability to dominate at the back is something that is perhaps lacking at St Mary’s at the moment and the fact that he is a left-footed centre-back would see him as a unique player in Hasenhuttl’s squad.

It is unclear what the price on Salisu’s head will be but he would Real Valladolid are well within their right to charge a significant fee for a club to take him to England.

The Coronavirus pandemic may mean that prices are lower this summer when the transfer window opens, with some clubs wanting to secure funds as much as possible with some revenue streams cut off.

However, it is also unclear how much money Saints will have to spend in what has been an uncertain time for all clubs.