The young centre-back will have to wait a little longer for his first outing in England after being overlooked again on Saturday
Mohammed Salisu’s wait for a first Premier League outing continues as he was snubbed in preference for Jack Stephens in Southampton’s 0-0 draw with Fulham on Saturday.
With first-choice left-centre-back Jannik Vestergaard out injured, opportunity opened for the 21-year-old who had been a consistent face on the Saints’ bench in their last four matches prior to Saturday.
In his pre-match press conference, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl hinted a possible starting deployment of Salisu in the absence of Vestergaard amid competition from Stephens.
In the end, it was the Englishman who got the nod, leaving the Ghanaian on the bench once again, as the Saints and the Cottagers shared the spoils at Craven Cottage.
The result sees Southampton occupy the eight spot on the Premier League table after 15 rounds of matches.
“I think we have seen the team at the top of the league [Liverpool] play for two months without [influential captain and first-choice centre-back] Virgil van Dijk and everybody said this was not possible, that you could not play without him. They are not really less successful than before, so everything is possible,” Hasenhuttl said ahead of Saturday’s encounter.
“Maybe the game will change slightly because Jannik with the ball has fantastic passes and solutions but we must adapt our game always to ever circumstance that is there – but we must trust in the other ones.
“Salisu is a completely different player. He is left-footed so a left-footed one makes it on the left a little different with the angle of how you play the ball, but we have Jack Stephens who is a very similar ball-player to Jannik. I have not decided yet what I will do.
“We must have a look. We will not be able to make a one to one change as this is not possible.”
Salisu joined Southampton in a four-year deal from Spanish outfit Real Valladolid in August after impressing in La Liga.
An injury, however, saw him join his new club’s pre-season training in the week of commencement of the championship.
He made his first entry into the Saints’ matchday squad in a 2-1 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this month, taking a place on the bench.
Be the first to comment