By Ewah Chika.
Claude Puel probably did not know his Southampton team lacked creativity when he was appointed in June until the Saints' first three games of the season against Watford, Manchester United and Sunderland gaining just two points.
Puel had made a terrible mistake in not signing a replacement for electric and creative attacking midfielder Saido Mane who was sold to Liverpool for £32 million. Though Southampton signed winger Nathan Redmond from Norwich, the English on present form no disrespect still has a lot of catching up to do to adequately replace the Senegalese.
This is probably the reason, Southampton splashed out a whopping £20 million on Lille attaching youngster Sofiane Boufal breaking their previous record of £14 million which they paid to Roma for Italian and Argentine bad boy Dani Osvaldo in 2013. The midfielder is Moroccan although he was born in Paris. Boufal is also Lille's best attacking midfielder since Eden Hazard. The midfielder's greatest assets are his low centre of gravity which has aided his flawless ball control, quick feet and dribbling abilities. Boufal will surely excel in the English Premier League as he will be afforded spaces by opponents which he will readily exploit to score goals or create chances for team-mates. Last season, Boufal scored 11 goals, providing four assists for Lille in the Ligue 1 under Frederic Antoinetti who granted him more freedom and who also rescued Lille's free fall under present Morocco coach Rene Renard, although Boufal was still Lille's shinning light during the former Zambian coach's reign.
"I'm very, very happy to sign for Southampton and I am really excited to play in St Mary's Stadium in front of the fans. I hope I can achieve many great things with Southampton," Boufal said after making a deadline move to Southampton.
The signing of the player might be considered a risk judging from the number of players who have flopped in England after having promising careers in France. Also for every flop like Florian Thauvin (Marseille to Newcastle), Remy Cabella (Montpellier to Newcastle United), Papy Djilobodji (Nancy to Chelsea), there are bargains like Riyad Mahrez (Le Havre to Leicester City), N'Golo Kante (Caen to Leicester City), Moussa Sisssoko (Toulouse to Newcastle United) and Dmitri Payet (Lille to West Ham). Boufal'a signing has also been condemned because the Moroccan only played 18 months for Lille, yet the same critics have failed to acknowledge the youngster's displays for Angers after he helped the club get promoted to Lille 1 in the 2014/2015 season. Boufal was signed by Lille for a paltry €4 million in a January 2014 and the midfielder quickly hit the ground running, scoring three times and providing six assists in 14 league games before the end of the season. Last season, the Paris born midfielder won 124 take-ons of which only five players in the top five European leagues could better the stat (England, Spain, Germany, France and Portugal).
Boufal can play in any attacking position, although his most preferred position is slightly behind the striker as a No.10. In total the midfielder scored 14 goals in 43 league games for Lille. This Southampton has not only struggled for creativity, the club has also struggled to score goals which is partly due to the exit of Graziano Pelle as both Shane Long and Charlie Austin have failed to adequately replace the Italian. Puel's system is also to be blame as the former Nice manager has played Redmond as a striker pairing him with Long with Davies, Dusan Tadic partnering with Oriol Romeu and Hojbjerg in a midfield four. Long on his own cannot be played as the main striker as the Irish man thrives in space as pace and trickery makes him more suited in a supporting striker role. Puel might be reluctant to start Austin upfront although he is a natural and better finisher compared to the Irish man but problem lies in the fact that the former Queens Park Rangers player and bricklayer apart from goal scoring adds nothing to the team.
Finally, although Boufal is injured, his addition will greatly improve the Saints attack giving them more impetus and incisiveness to compliment their good defensive record which has been one of the best in England in the last two years.
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