Sofiane Boufal
Southampton made the headlines in the summer of 2016 when they splashed a club record £16million to land Moroccan winger Sofiane Boufal from Ligue 1 outfit Lille.
Boufal caught the eye of former Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino with some scintillating performances in the 2015/16 season in the Ligue 1, accumulating 11 goals and 4 assists in the French top flight.
However, the 25-year-old turned out to be one of the most flop signings for the club in recent years and failed to live up to his huge price tag. Boufal underwhelmed over the course of his two seasons for the Saints in the Premier League, scoring 4 goals from 59 appearances.
He fell out of favour under former manager Mark Hughes towards the end of last season and was subsequently loaned out to La Liga outfit Celta Vigo at the start of the current season.
Well, Boufal might have been a flop at St.Mary’s but he has certainly rediscovered his mojo as an attacker in the La Liga this season, scoring 2 goals and providing an assist from 11 appearances, six of which came from the bench.
Granted, he did not fare well in the Premier League but few can deny that Boufal has the ability to light up the scene with moments of individual brilliance. He showed that he can be one of the most devastating players on his day as evident from his goal against West Brom last season.
After coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Dusan Tadic, Boufal received the ball deep in his own half and rode his way past six defenders with his mesmerizing dribbling skills to guide the ball past Ben Foster. This individual solo goal was voted Premier League Goal of the Season for 2017-18.
Another instance of his brilliance came in the 2016/17 League Cup against Sunderland where he cut inside from the left and found the top corner with a thunderous shot, his goal being voted as Southampton’s goal of the season.
Suffice to say, someone like Boufal is capable of turning the game on its head with moments of brilliance. And that is exactly the reason why Southampton must recall him from his loan spell to give themselves a better chance of surviving the relegation battle.
The 25-year-old is not a complete attacker by any means but he can compete with the best in the world in terms of dribbling. He uses his low centre of gravity to good effect and combines it with his commendable upper body strength to ride his way past the defenders. He tries to do a bit too much with the ball at his feet but he has the ability to add that impetus and energy to the Southampton’s otherwise toothless attack.
Nathan Redmond and Mohamed Elyounoussi have failed to make much of an impact down the wide areas this season, further epitomising the need for someone like Boufal in the ranks.
Southampton are currently in the relegation zone after a series of unimpressive results and the Saints have been hit hard by the goalscoring drought of Charlie Austin and Shane Long.
The Saints need to pull a rabbit out of the hat to avoid relegation this season and recalling Sofiane Boufal from his loan spell would definitely be a gamble worth taking.