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Sky Sports have reported this week that a Southampton deal for Standard Liege left winger Moussa Djenepo is all but done.
The transfer is agreed, per the original report, but yet to be announced with the formalities of a medical and a work permit yet to be completed.
Ralph Hasenhuttl will be hoping that his first signing as Saints boss can buy into his ideology as much as the man he’ll likely be understudy to at St. Mary’s, Nathan Redmond.
He’ll also be hoping to enjoy a better debut season than Mohamed Elyounoussi, who flopped dramatically after joining the ranks last summer.
Hasenhuttl will also be praying for a quick transition to the pace of the Premier League for the eight-time Mali international, but as we’re about to discover, the 20-year-old appears to possess the quality needed for the best league in the world.
People may say that thriving in Belgium’s top flight is far from conducive to a successful stint in the Premier League, but the fact Djenepo has found form in the Europa League suggests he has the credentials to make a step up in class.
As we can see, the starlet certainly has pedigree in one of the world’s elite club competitions.
In five appearances last season, as Standard Liege failed to make it out of the group stages of the season-long tournament, Djenepo scored three goals. That’s a Europa League average of more than a goal every other match.
The African isn’t afraid to go for goal when he gets half a chance either, weighing in with 1.6 shots per game, while he also likes to take on his opposite number, as evidenced by his average of 2.2 dribbles.
Djenepo’s reliability in possession should hold him in good stead in English football, as he didn’t let his pass success percentage drop below 78.1% in the competition.
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These figures, per WhoScored, are evidence of the Mali man’s ability out on the left wing, and they provide strong reason to suggest that this could be a brilliant long-term investment from the Saints.
All that’s left for the player to do is to work hard and blossom into the start that his stats suggest he can become, presuming he does complete a switch to the south coast, of course.