RALPH Hasenhuttl declared the Premier League the perfect league for young star Armel Bella-Kotchap, due to his physicality and desire. The 20-year-old German has made a big impact on Saints fans in his first five Premier League matches since arriving from VFL Bochum this summer. Bella-Kotchap, who set the St Mary’s side back around £9million when he signed from the Bundesliga side in July, had only played 22 top-flight games prior. However, he has taken to the Premier League – alongside Mohammed Salisu, in his third season – like a future German international to any football division.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “A physically strong league is exactly what he needed to have because he is very strong and he loves to go into duels and show how good he is one against one. This is what we wanted to have and we keep it on some other parts of the game quite simple for him and it always helps in the beginning when you don’t make silly mistakes in the build-up or something like that. It helps to get confidence first do the job you need to do as a centre-back, clear the balls and play simple. Then when it goes to more games you have to show your other qualities. Scoring goals for example, he had a great chance at Wolverhampton.”
Parisian-born Bella-Kotchap is one of six players to sign for Saints this summer aged 20 or younger, with five having already made their debut Premier League debut.
Ralph Hasenhuttl added: “It’s not only the Premier League, it’s all over the world that you see players are getting younger. There are some things why this happens. One thing is the development in youth is much more structured and they get a lot of knowledge early from very good coaches and I think this has changed massively. On the other side it is easier to bring a young player in and develop him, give him a long-term contract and give him an earlier chance to compete at a higher level because that creates value. More and more clubs are going in this direction, the only difference between us (Southampton) and a top six club is they have to play for titles so it’s not as easy to bring young players in. For us it’s easier to give them a chance to let them play because if we lose a game it is not the end of the world.”
