Defender's Absence Noted Amid Questions Over Attitude Tuesday, 11th Apr 2023 09:14 Just as Saints need every member of the squad to be putting in 100%, leaks emerge that one of our defenders is missing due to concerns about his attitude. If Saints are to perform a Great Escape and get out of relegation trouble, then it needs a squad with spirit and commitment to dig in and pull us out of this hole, but it seems that one player is not with the programme on this. Before we reveal who it should be noted that the news on this will have come directly from someone within the club, if not from an official PR leak to trusted journalists, then from a squad member disgusted with the player in questions attitude. It should also be said that this is far from concrete, but the evidence is there from the outside. That man is said to be Mohammed Salisu according to online football news outlet The Athletic.
They report that his absence in the Southampton side is nothing to do with injury, but is do with his attitude. Salisu has barely played in the first team since the defeat to Wolves on 11th February, indeed despite being an unused substitute in many games, he has played just once and that came when Armel Bella Kotchap had to go off with a shoulder injury against Spurs. In truth in that game he appeared to have 100% commitment and there was no sign of an attitude issue. With the German defender out you would have hoped that this would have seen Salisu step up to the plate determined to get his place back in the team, but instead it seems that he has preferred to not play at all. But it is not just Southampton he seemingly has an issue is, after a decent 81 minutes against Spurs he went off on International duty with Ghana, up to the World Cup he had refused to play for his country after falling out with a previous manager, but he returned to the fold back in September and played in the World Cup. He went away with his country after the Spurs game, but then came news of an un named injury that kept him out of both of Ghana's games
When he arrived back at St Mary's there was no further information on just what injury he had picked up and he was missing for the trip to West Ham & then again on Saturday for Manchester City, just when his club needed him. This has lead now to the news from the Athletic, that he is far from injured and it is his attitude problem that means he hasn't even been on the bench for these games. This is not the first time questions have been asked about Salisu, when he arrived at St Mary's in the summer of 2020 he came with a good reputation, but it would be February before he made a first team appearance, initially his absence was given as a muscle injury, he finally appeared in a matchday squad in December and was an unused sub until then it was announced he had picked up a hamstring injury in January. At the time there were whispers about his attitude and that rather than injury he was struggling to adapt to his new environment. Now it seems he has found attitude again after being a virtual ever present up to that defeat against Wolves .
It seems that he has fallen out with Ruben Selles the following weekend when he was dropped to the bench for his Spaniard's game in charge at Chelsea, with Jan Bednarek now returning to the fold and preferred to partner Bella-Kotchap by the new manager. Since then he has been out of the picture, although he has almost become the forgotten man with more questioning the absence of Caleta-Car or Orsic than that of Salisu. Salisu's 4 year initial deal is due up in the summer of 2024 and the Athletic reports that he has refused to enter new contract talks until the summer, this though should not impact on his ability to play for the team or be committed to it. It is not unusual for a player to ask to wait until the summer before negotiating, especially when the club's own position in the League is unclear, I would not put this down to the reason for any attitude issues. Just what is behind Salisu's current attitude is unclear, whether it is just his failure to make the side or whether he has fallen out with his manager or even team mates. What we do know is that there is evidence that he is a player that downs tools when he doesn't like things that are happening, both at International level and perhaps in his initial time at St Mary's.
The fact that this story has emerged perhaps suggests that the club itself is not happy with the player and that for whatever reason he is making himself unavailable for selection directly or otherwise and that someone within the club is keen to let the fans know what is happening. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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