Russell Martin should start Southampton's record-signing in the Premier League

Over one and a half year ago, Southampton completed their record £25 million signing of Ghana international Kamaldeen Sulemana from French club Rennes midway through the 2022/23 season. The decision to spend their all-time record transfer fee on Sulemana stemmed from Southampton's lack of goals in the Premier League that season amidst their aim to avoid getting relegated from the Premier League. However, this signing hasn't worked out as expected so far, and Sulemana has only managed to find the back of the net twice and register four assists for the Saints in the previous two seasons.

In the Championship, the jet-heeled forward didn't score a goal and could only manage to give three assists in 25 appearances for Russell Martin's side, which led to him getting less playing time towards the end of the previous season. There were even transfer talks between Southampton and Eredivisie side Ajax regarding a season long loan move for Sulemana, however a transfer move didn't materialise and the 22-year-old stayed at the St. Mary's Stadium this season. With Southampton facing goalscoring struggles again in the Premier League, there are chances that Sulemana could be reintegrated into the first team again.

Russell Martin should start Southampton's record-signing in the Premier League

This season, manager Russell Martin has shown that any willing and hardworking performer in the squad will get game time in the first team as was evident when Martin brought exit-linked striker Paul Onuachu as a second half substitute in the 3-1 defeat against Arsenal. Moreover, Martin suggested before the match that all current squad players are part of his plans as he is aiming towards finding a perfect balance in the starting lineup to consistently get good results in the league. Further the Saints don't have much blistering pace in their attack apart from Sulemana and even started Maxwel Cornet against Bournemouth to quickly advance inside the final third.

Although Cornet didn't involve much in the build up play, this is an area where Sulemana has previously thrived at Rennes. The Ghana international is a great playmaker and often attempts a lot of key passes near the box, thus, creating more goalscoring opportunities for promising forwards Cameron Archer and Tyler Dibling. On top of that, if Sulemana improves his finishing inside the final third in these two weeks, he can contribute to a lot of much needed goals for the Saints in the Premier League.

Hence, manager Russell Martin should evaluate Sulemana's performances in team training and consider giving him some playing time in the Premier League after the international break.