On the latest episode of the Total Saints podcast, Glen de la Cour has urged Ralph Hasenhuttl to start Mohammed Salisu in Southampton’s next Premier League encounter.
The Saints travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take on Spurs on Wednesday evening as they aim to end a two-game losing run and move further away from the relegation zone.
Hassenhuttl has stuck predominantly with a back four of Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand throughout the current campaign, however, Bertrand has been linked with a move away from St. Mary’s with his contract set to expire over the summer.
Arsenal are rumoured to be lining up a move for the 31-year-old left-back, and De la Cour wants summer-signing Salisu to be given another chance to impress in his place.
He said: “I’d like to see Salisu given a chance, be that as a left-back instead of Bertrand – because Bertrand is obviously not going to be with us next year, or it’s looking 99% that way at the moment – give him a go.”
TIF Thoughts on Salisu…
The 22-year-old versatile defender arrived at Southampton from La Liga outfit Real Valladolid over the summer in a £10.9m move.
It’s been a difficult first campaign for the £9m-rated Ghanaian, though, having started just four Premier League games all season.
Salisu’s only previous outing at left-back in 2020/21 was in the 5-2 defeat against Manchester City.
Therefore, it may be something of a risk to deploy Salisu in place of Bertrand, but with a slight shortage at present in the full-back position, perhaps it is worth a try.
In other news: ‘I don’t understand’ – TalkSPORT pundit blasts Hasenhuttl’s big Southampton decision