Southampton manager Nathan Jones has said Kamaldeen Sulemana is a “positive addition” after the Premier League club signed the Ghana international on deadline day.
Southampton paid a club record fee of £22 million to sign Sulemana from French side Rennes.
The 20-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract that will keep him at the Premier League club until 2027.
The Saints are in grave danger of dropping out of the Premier League as they are currently last with 15 points after 20 games.
It was therefore not surprising that they were very active in the January transfer window, bringing in five players, including Sulemana, who Jones believes can be of great help.
“This is another really positive addition for us this month. We’ve obviously been keen to add a little more potency to the side, and Kamaldeen is someone who does that for us,” Jones said.
“He’s at a stage in his career where we feel he can help us in the immediate term, but also continue to grow and develop further into the future.”
Sulemana joined Rennes from Nordsjaelland in 2021 and has appeared in 20 games this season, scoring once and assisting twice.
It exceeds the £20m Saints paid to sign Danny Ings from Liverpool in 2019.
Sulemana made three appearances at the World Cup in Qatar and was recorded running at 35.7kph (22.2mph) during the tournament, the quickest speed of any player.
