Southampton forward Sofiane Boufal insists that he still has much to give and that Saints fans have yet to see his true self.
The Moroccan attacker, who signed for the South Coast club from Lille for £16million in 2016, has grown in confidence in the Premier League.
Game time was hard to come by for the 24-year old in his first season, but now Boufal has established himself in the first-team set up under Mauricio Pellegrino, especially after a superb solo goal agains West Brom.
However, despite an upturn in form, Boufal insists that there is still much more to come. He said;
I have more confidence and I feel fitter. I now feel very good in my body and in my head.
Now I play more regularly it’s easier for me to show my qualities and I know my qualities and at the moment you don’t see a lot of my qualities; I know I can do better.
I feel better and better and I feel more fit and confident. Yes, I need to progress, I need to be more consistent, I know this, but now the most difficult period is gone and now I look forward to the future.
To be honest with you, I’m confident for the future.
Having suffered a knee injury with Lille shortly before departing the French club that summer, Boufal’s progress with his new club was halted, with the Moroccan having to wait till October to make his debut.
An aggravation of that same injury meant that he missed the African Cup of Nations, and also prevented him from building any momentum, despite making 30 appearances in all competitions for the Saints. Talking about his first season in England, he said;
I don’t know one player who just do the good, good, good moments in football – all players do bad moments and a bad season.
I came last season and I was injured. I didn’t do pre-season and I knew my first season would be difficult. But all these things are behind me and now I look forward.
I had four weeks holidays [in the summer] and I didn’t take much of that as holiday because I worked a lot in the summer to prepare for this season.
I knew this season was very important for me.
Now I feel better, I feel fit and I’m confident about the future.
