Southampton have signed Ghanaian centre-back Mohammed Salisu from Real Valladolid for a fee of £10.9m.
The 21-year-old defender has joined the Saints from Spanish La Liga club Real Valladolid where he impressed during the 2019/20 season.
Southampton released the following statement on their official website:
“Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce it has completed the signing of centre-back Mohammed Salisu from Real Valladolid.”
“The sought-after 21-year-old Ghanaian has signed a four-year contract at St Mary’s, becoming the second player to arrive at the club during this year’s summer transfer window,” a club statement read.
Salisu featured twice in Valladolid’s Copa del Rey campaign in the 2018/19 season before becoming a regular in the 2019/20 campaign, making 32 appearances across all competitions.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl is pleased to have signed the towering defender ahead of the 2020/21 season.
“This is an important signing for us. Mohammed is a player who fits our profile well. He is young and has a great amount of potential, but he is also someone who has the qualities to come in and help the team as soon as he is up to speed with our way of playing,” he said.
“I like what I have seen of him so far in his games with Valladolid. He is strong defensively, he is calm with the ball – something that is important in our team – and he has good speed too.
“I think he will fit in well with us and that this will be a good place for him to develop his game further. We have some good centre-backs here and this will be another strong option for us.”
While Salisu, who is yet to make his international debut for Ghana, is also pleased to have secured a move to the Saints.
“It is a very good feeling to be a Southampton player. I am very happy to be part of the club and I am looking forward to starting here,” he said.
“Southampton is a club with a very rich history in developing young players, so it is a very good club for me to develop my skills and to learn a lot as a young player. “I know that the team expects a lot from me and I’m going to try to give all I can to help the team.”
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Ghanamatters.com
