Journalist Dean Jones has admitted that Southampton star Kamaldeen Sulemana has been frustrating so far in his career at St. Mary’s Stadium but believes there is still hope yet.
The Ghanaian winger joined the Saints back in January for a whopping £22 million as the club were throwing money at one last attempt to stave off impending relegation to the Championship.
However, the youngster struggled to adapt to life in the top-flight as the club on the south coast were dragged down to the second division anyway, scoring twice in 18 appearances in all competitions. Nevertheless, Sulemana hasn’t fared much better in the Championship either.
This season, under the guidance of former MK Dons and Swansea City manager Russell Martin, the Ghana international has failed to find the net in 13 appearances, starting in less than half of his games, according to Transfermarkt.
Sulemana has registered three assists in the second tier, although two of these were during a 3-1 win over fellow promotion chasers Leeds United back in September.
Speaking in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, journalist Dean Jones highlighted the coaching staff’s frustrations with the 21-year-old but believes that a whole host of clubs would queue up for the attacker’s signature if he was made available:
“He’s got to try his best because he knows he’s got a special talent here. I know the stats aren’t necessarily backing it up at the moment but he is one of the best players in this team.
“If he became available for transfer, there would be loads of clubs queuing up to take him,” he continued.
“He’s got that edge about him. It just needs to be seen more frequently and that’s probably what’s frustrating to Russell Martin. The fact that he’s got so much potential, but at the moment, you look at his stats, and there’s nothing there to show for it. So that’s frustrating.
“There’s a special player in there, but Saints need to see the best version of it. Maybe it’s a case of patience, but I’m not sure how much time there is going to be there, because Saints want to get back at the first attempt.”
Writer’s View
Sulemana is a top player who can make anything happen, as shown by his time in Denmark with Nordsjaelland and in France with Rennes. Unfortunately, Southampton supporters just haven’t seen the best of him yet.
However, it’s easy to forget that this is still his first year in English football and he is only 21. Martin should keep perservering with the young lad for now as his time will certainly come.
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