Former Southampton star Moussa Djenepo has fallen on hard times after leaving Saints.
Moussa Djenepo joined Southampton in the summer of 2019 for a fee believed to be £15 million. After a season with Belgian club Standard Liège in which he scored 11 goals and provided six assists, he was seen as a player with great potential.
After a promising start at St Mary’s and a fine goal at Brighton, he was quickly followed up with a great solo performance against Sheffield United in the opening week of the 2019/20 season, but Djenepo’s quality was more than visible. It is no exaggeration to say that it was not. reality.
That was all too rare during his four years at Southampton. His inconsistency has been frustrating at times, and the contract extension signed by the Mali international after some decent performances in the unfamiliar left-back role at the start of the 2022/23 season is due to the management of the club’s previous owners. This is evidence of a mistake. .
Djenepo, now 25, was a casualty of Southampton’s summer overhaul following their relegation from the Premier League last season. The winger returned to his former club Standard Liege for a nominal transfer fee of around £3 million, but struggled to earn his place.
After the aforementioned one-off game against Sheffield United in September 2019, in which Djenepo made his first start for the club, then-manager Ralph Hasenhüttl said: “How important he (Dienepo) is to our game.” It shows that there is, and that’s great.”
The Austrian coach added: “When he gets the ball in these positions, it’s unbelievable. He knows how to shoot, he’s very fast and moves well. ”
Ironically, Djenepo’s unpredictability is perhaps his greatest strength, but also his fundamental flaw. This crafty man sometimes gets credit for his cunning, but more often than not things go awry and he hasn’t been able to iron out the rough elements of his game as Southampton would have liked.
Southampton have scored just five goals in 91 appearances, and despite recent signings making it clear that he does not suit new manager Russell Martin’s style of play, Southampton are looking to cut back on goals and sign Djenepo’s departure. Permitted.
Players who did not fit Martin’s possession-oriented approach, who remained at the club last summer, risk suffering the same fate as Djenepo at the end of this season. Djenepo’s first season at the club was a very disappointing one, following the excitement created by Standard Liege upon his return to the club after leaving the club at the age of 20.
Djenepo has played in 22 games in all competitions this season, scoring just one goal. Furthermore, the man whom Hasenhüttl described as a “role model” after signing a new contract with Southampton has never registered an assist.
Goals sometimes don’t accurately reflect a player’s impact on the pitch, but unfortunately that’s not the case with Djenepo. In many ways, it’s the fundamental numbers that matter more than the actual goals and assists, and Djenepo has started 19 league games this season but has only had two shots on target. remains.
Another statistic that will come as no surprise to Southampton fans and further highlights the hidden contradictions is the fact that Djennépo’s dribble success rate for the Belgian first team this season is just 44.12%. Perhaps Djenepo’s biggest disappointment since leaving Southampton was missing out on the Mali squad at the African Cup of Nations in January through injury, and was forced to return in mid-January.
Djenepo, who has 33 caps, is expected to play an active role in the Ivory Coast national team despite his disappointing results this season.
He could potentially have his moment of brilliance, but unfortunately Djenepo’s attempts to rediscover the form that saw Southampton take him to the Premier League in 2019 are now So far it’s wasted.
Leave a Reply