Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has denied claims suggesting Ghanaian defender Mohamed Salisu was close to a £40 million January switch to Premier League rivals Newcastle United, according to Daily Echo.
He may not be the finished article just yet but, as far as raw potential goes, Mohamed Salisu is certainly one to watch.
Midway through his second season at St Mary’s, the Ghana international is rapidly becoming one of the first names on Hasenhuttl’s team-sheet.
And an outstanding, near-faultless performance in the recent 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City merely confirmed what those who had watched him in action for Real Valladolid had long since suspected.
This is a central defender with all the ingredients required to go right to the top.
According to 90Min, Newcastle held talks with Southampton regarding a potential £40 million move to St James’ Park. But Newcastle are not the only Premier League club with ambitious new owners.
The Saints were taken over by Serbian businessman Dragan Solak recently. And 90Min claims that the new St Mary’s bosses immediately set about ensuring that Salisu would be staying put.
But when asked about the 22-year-old’s future ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Coventry City, Hasenhuttl gave his own version of events.
“As I said before, no player wanted to leave this club in the winter,” the coach says when asked to comment on Newcastle’s Salisu interest.
“And if (they did want to go), we would definitely say no to everything because we will not give our players a chance in the winter to leave. We need them here.
“We really need them.”
Newcastle reportedly made a bid for Salisu back in 2020, shortly before he was unveiled at Southampton.
Steve Nickson, the club’s head of recruitment, is a long-time admirer of of the spring-heeled centre-half (The Athletic).
Salisu would eventually turn down a more lucrative offer at Rennes in order to put pen to paper with the Saints.
