English Premier League boss credits Celtic for player development

By John McGinley

February 24, 2022

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has credited Celtic for helping Mohamed Elyounoussi take the ‘next step’ in his development as a player.

Elyounoussi spent two years on loan at the Bhoys, making 68 appearances in total for the club.

The Norwegian international has since returned to Southampton where he’s become one of their key players in the English Premier League.

In recent weeks he’s managed to score against Tottenham Hotspur and set up a goal against Manchester United, raising hype levels.

Hasenhuttl is obviously delighted with his progress and reckons his time at Celtic was a turning point for him.

He said, as quoted by The Glasgow Times: “I think this loan time definitely helped him to make the next step in his development. 

“It was important for him to get game time there – it was always a problem here in the beginning.

“It is always tough when you are coming into a new team, then the team is not performing well and you are a little bit under the radar and don’t get a chance to play a lot.

“So, I think he needed this time and we were always following him, looking how he developed his game and it was for me, in the summer, a very clear decision to say ‘I want him back in this team’.”

Elyounoussi won a treble during his time in Scotland, so it wasn’t a completely one-sided transaction. He was a big performer for Neil Lennon in the Celtic attack, scoring 24 goals and assisting 14 more.

It’s not much of a surprise to see him adjust to English football and perform at a higher level.

Of the many loans at Celtic over the last decade, the Norwegian attacker’s will undoubtedly go down as one of the most successful for all parties.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou’s brilliant ‘mate’ response to hyped-up nonsense about tonight’s Celtic game.