Ralph Hasenhuttl speculated that media attention surrounding Mohammed Salisu could have contributed to the defender’s recent performances – calling it “a typical example”. Asked why Salisu’s performances have dropped off,
Ralph Hasenhuttl responded: “Maybe since you have talked about how good he is, I don’t know. The Man City game was where they all praised him for being fantastic and it was his last really good game he played.”
Salisu put in a man of the match performance as Saints held champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s in January. The likes of Newcastle United were subsequently linked to the defender towards the end of the winter transfer window.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “It is always difficult for you as a manager to say what is going on in the background with him and all the things, all the rumours but I think this is a typical example of how quickly you can lose the focus and drop with your performances. I think it’s on me – and you can be sure that I speak with him very often about that – to get his head clear, because the last performances have been far away from what he has shown this time. He is a good package normally, we all know.”
Salisu is under contract with Saints until 2024, after arriving from Spanish side Real Valladolid in August 2020, and The Athletic report that a resolution to an agency issue has opened the door to new terms potentially being discussed when the time is right.
Ralph hasenhuttl added: “At the moment we are having the issue also with Ramadan sometimes and for these players it is not so easy. Some handle it better, some don’t feel so energetic so these are the issues you have as a manager with some players sometimes. But for me it is important that he gets back to the Sali he was before these last two or three games.”
