After scoring in both of Southampton’s wins so far this season, Moussa Djenepo has done more than enough to quickly assert himself as a fan-favourite on the English south coast.
Yet since the Mali international’s dazzling goal against Sheffield United that saw the former Standard Liege winger claim the Premier League’s Goal of the Month award, injuries have blighted Djenepo’s time with Southampton, with stats from Transfermarkt showing that the attacker missed a good five games for the Saints.
Will Southampton claim Premier League survival?
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With Djenepo slowly coming back from injury, playing only six minutes against Manchester City and then the full 90 against Everton, fellow attacking teammate Nathan Redmond has recently lavished the left-sided attacker with plenty of praise in an interview with The Southern Daily Echo.
“He is a super-talented boy who is so open-minded and eager to learn every single day. He gets on well with everybody and has fitted in so well,” with Redmond adding: “He is off his head. It doesn’t matter if it’s nine o’clock at night, the kid is nuts in a good way. He’s fantastic to have around the dressing room and when he was injured he still had that same mentality.”
Indeed, Djenepo has seemingly made as positive an impact off the pitch as he has on it, and following the conclusion of the international break, the 21-year-old attacker could be the spark Southampton have needed to breathe new life into the season after a so-far calamitous year.
With the Saints currently sitting in 19th in the Premier League table and three points off from safety, Ralph Hasnehuttl’s side need to start getting back to winning ways, something they have only managed with Djenepo in the starting XI, and against Arsenal, the attacker could be the man to salvage the club from even more misery.
