---
title: "Hughes adamant new signing isn’t Tadic replacement"
canonical: "https://readsouthampton.com/2018/06/30/hughes-adamant-new-signing-isnt-tadic-replacement/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Elliott Cuff"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2018-06-30T15:58:49Z"
modified: "2018-06-30T17:41:50Z"
---

# Hughes adamant new signing isn’t Tadic replacement

Southampton boss Mark Hughes has stressed that new signing Mohamed Elyounoussi is not a direct replacement for Dušan Tadić.

The Serbia international left St Mary’s for Ajax’s Johan Cruyff Arena this week, ending a four year stint with the South Coast club for around £15million.

While much of that transfer fee was reinvested in 23-year old former Basel winger Elyounoussi, Hughes is adamant that a deal wasn’t done in order to replace Tadić, and the Welshman claims he wanted to keep the Serb.

In an interview with the [Daily Echo](https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/16323811.mohamed-elyounoussi-is-not-direct-tadic-replacement/?ref=rss) and BBC Radio Solent, Mark Hughes said:

> We’re not viewing him as a direct replacement, he’s a different type of player but he has similar traits as well.

> He’s not a like-for-like replacement, you can never get that, but I was sorry to see Dušan go, I really enjoyed working with him. He was really influential in what we did at the end of the season.

> But I sat down with him almost immediately after the end of the season and had a quick chat with him and tried to make him understand that if I was the manager next season, I’d loved to continue to work with him.

> He needed to understand that but he had this idea and this hope that he’d get this opportunity to play at a club like Ajax and maybe win titles and play in the Champions League.

> That’s a big draw for these players and at the stage he’s at in his career I wish him well, because now he’s got the opportunity to tick some boxes he hasn’t before.