Salisu: New Southampton signing's jersey number revealed

New Southampton recruit Mohammed Salisu will wear the number 22 jersey for the 2020-21 season after the squad numbers were released by the club.

The 21-year-old joined the Saints having completed a £10.9million move from Real Valladolid. A fee which matched his release clause.

Salisu had been linked with a host of European giants that included Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus.

At some stage it looked like Ligue 1 club Rennes - who were keen to bolster their backline ahead of their Champions League debut, would append his signature. However, Southampton won the intense race for a fee considered a huge bargain in today’s hyper-inflated transfer market.

Upon his arrival, Salisu stated he was ready to adapt to the Premier League which he called a very tough league.

“For me, it has been a dream since I was a child to play in the Premier League and I am very, very happy to be here,” Salisu said on the club website.

“We all know it is a very tough league, but I am ready for everything to put all I can into helping the team.

“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.

“It’s a very good club for me to develop my skills and to learn a lot as a young player and I’m very happy to join. Southampton have a fantastic history in developing young players and I hope I do my best to add to that group.”

The Ghanaian comes with a good reputation from La Liga where he averaged 5.0 clearances per game, 1.3 tackles and 1.1 interceptions, all last season in what was a breakthrough senior debut with the Blanquivioletas having been a youth player since 2017.

The number 22 Southampton jersey was previously worn by Nathan Redmond, but the English forward will now take the vacant number 11 shirt.

The other Africans in the Saints squad in Malian Moussa Djenepo and Moroccan Sofiane Boufal retained their number 12 and 19 shirts respectively.

Southampton finished in 11th place last season, 18 points clear of the relegation zone and seven points short of European qualification.

Salisu will be looking to make his Premier League debut when the Saints travel to Jordan Ayew’s Crystal Palace on September 12.