Southampton flop and Celtic star Mohamed Elyounoussi has revealed that the club’s former midfielder Stuart Armstrong convinced him into joining the Scottish giants.
Elyounoussi, who was recently handed the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month for October award, has been in impressive form for the club so far this season.
In an interview that the Norwegian gave to the Scotsman, he talked about how he ended up joining the Parkhead side.
He said: “I spoke to Stuart, of course, as we’re team mates at Southampton and he was able to tell me things that I didn’t know about the club. He told me so many good things about Celtic. And it was perfect that he sat next to me in the Southampton training ground dressing room.
“Of course, I had also spoken with Kris Ajer about Celtic too so I had a good knowledge of what I was coming into. I didn’t look at it as a step down, going from the English Premier League to the Scottish Premiership.
“I needed to get game time. I needed to get minutes on the pitch. I feel Celtic have brought my confidence back. I’m scoring goals and I’m really happy.”
Making his mark in Scotland
Elyounoussi is already proving many wrong during his ongoing spell at Celtic. He joined the club on a temporary loan deal from Southampton, where his move has not gone down too well.
So far this season, the attacking midfielder has done well to rejuvenate his career. In all competitions, has played 12 times. But boasts of a goalscoring tally of seven goals and has as many as six assists as well.
He hasn’t featured since their win over Motherwell this month. He injured himself on international duty for the Norwegian side recently and was sent back to the club to begin treatment.
For Southampton last season, Elyounoussi had failed to score or assist even once in all competitions for the club. All that, despite having 19 times in all competitions for the Saints.
The Norwegian had been in impressive form for former club Basel in his last season for the Swiss side. In a total of 44 appearances in the 2017-18 season, the 25-year-old had racked up 13 goals and had bagged a tally of 17 assists.
TIF Tactics
In Neil Lennon’s 4-2-3-1‘s shape this season, Elyounoussi has played on the left-wing for the Hoops in the Premiership. In the Europa League, he has played a variety of positions for the club. He played as a striker in the recent 2-1 win over Lazio and also played as a left wing-back in the reverse fixture against the Biancocelesti.
For the Saints last season, he had started on the right flank under Mark Hughes. As soon as he failed in that position, he was taken out of the first-team more often than not. He played on the left-wing only six times.
For Basel too, he had played more often on the left-wing or in the attacking midfield area. It shows that Lennon has played him in the right position so far. Long may it last.