There was plenty of intrigue from Southampton fans as they finally got to enjoy the long-awaited debut of Mohammed Salisu in Thursday’s FA Cup win over Wolves.
The 21-year-old Ghana international joined the club from La Liga side Real Valladolid over the summer but arrived injured at Staplewood. Having since recovered, the centre-back underwent an intensive rehabilitation programme to boost his match fitness and to get him up to the required sharpness for elite-level football.
Despite having signed all the way back in the summer for a reported fee of £10.9m, Thursday night was the first glimpse of Saints action for Salisu. However, the Ghanaian made a debut impact, keeping a clean sheet and making a team-high eight clearances on the night.
The cup clash also saw the return of fellow defender Kyle Walker-Peters from injury in another welcome boost to the Saints’ defensive prospects.
Having lost their last five league games, Saints fans will be keen to see the momentum of the cup carry over to the Premier League as well as their quarter-final FA Cup tie against fellow south coast side Bournemouth.
Many Southampton fans expressed optimism in their views on Salisu’s “terrific” performance and are looking forward to seeing what more he will offer to the Saints…
He's real but he's unreal 🔥😂
— Tanmay (@foreversaint__) February 11, 2021
Twitter: @SouthamptonFC Absolutely terrific! It was worth the wait. He looks so calm on the ball, keeps things simple, spots… https://t.co/3lYnceRzL0 (@iamdavidi)
Twitter: @SouthamptonFC Considering that was his 1st game and he played out 90 Mins and a clean sheet after a long period ou… https://t.co/5FjGIUm5NL (@Deesingh66)
Twitter: @SouthamptonFC Thought he read the game really well, was there for every cross. Good pace too. A couple of loose… https://t.co/o3cUQCCdc3 (@DomMooney1)
Twitter: @SouthamptonFC can’t wait to see more of him. the lad can run (@vestergodSFC)
Twitter: @vestergodSFC @SouthamptonFC finally a cb with pace
(@Dekerz_03)
