Mohammed Salisu became Southampton's latest recruit earlier this week following a reported £10.9m transfer from La Liga side Real Valladolid.
The 21-year-old became Saints' second acquisition of the summer following the capture of Kyle Walker-Peters on a permanent basis from Tottenham, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerb headed in the opposite direction, as reported on Vavel.
Ralph Hasenhuttl hailed the deal as an 'important' signing, speaking with Soutmapton's official website he said: "This is an important signing for us. Mohammed is a player who fits our profile well."
Regarded as important by the gaffer there is no doubt a few months ago most Saints fans probably wouldn't have even heard of Salisu, so we'll offer the rundown on who the Ghanian is and his career in football so far.
Career history
Born in his homeland of Ghana on 17th April 1999, the defender also began his football career there too.
Salisu joined Kumasi Barcelona Babies FC, who compete in regional Premier Colts league of Ghana, as a teenager before joining the can Talent Football Academy in Southern Ghana.
It was from there that the center-back was scouted and signed by La Liga outfit Real Valladolid in October 2017.
During January 2018 Salisu made his reserves debut in a 4–2 Segunda División B home loss against Coruxo and on March 1st had his contracted extended until 2021.
That following summer, in 2018, the 23-year-old was moved to the first-team set-up and made his senior debut in January of 2019 in a 1–0 away defeat against Getafe in the Copa del Rey.
In March he had his contract extended a further year, after noticing his potential, and made his inaugural La Liga start in August with a 2-1 victory over Real Betis.
Fernando Calero departed for Espanyol that summer meaning Salisu became first-choice center-back for the Spanish side in the 2019-20 season, and went onto feature 31 times in the league and one further appearance in a cup fixture.
Real Valladolid finished a commendable 13th with 42 points, massing nine wins, 15 draws and 14 losses.
Competition for his signature
On the back of an impressive season in La Liga Southampton pounced to make a reported £10.9m transfer with plenty of interest from other sides having been linked with the likes of Wolves, Newcastle, Manchester United, Everton and Watford.
Ligue 1 side Rennes had also attempted to gain the highly-rated defenders signature but gave up as Salisu favoured an English move, with English being his mother's tongue and also his.
Salisu has since discussed how Southampton's reputation for developing young players as part of the decision in making a switch to the South Coast and hoped he would be the next player to follow suit.
Speaking with Southampton's official website he said: "It is a very good feeling to be a Southampton player. I am very happy to be part of the club and I am looking forward to starting here.
“Southampton is a club with a very rich history in developing young players, so it is a very good club for me to develop my skills and to learn a lot as a young player."
Source: vavel.com