Former Celtic loanee Mohamed Elyounoussi has been discussing his two year spell in Glasgow and credits his time at the club with helping him become a mainstay back at his parent club Southampton this season.
Elyounoussi initially struggled at the Premier League club after making a £16 million switch from Swiss side Basel in the summer of 2018. However he ending up rediscovering the form that made him an International player and much sought after winger during his two seasons at Celtic Park, where the loan player notched a total of 25 goals in 69 outings under Neil Lennon, including 6 goals in European competitions. He said, as reported by Hampshirelive:
“It (the loan spell at Celtic) benefited me in terms of game time, I needed game time, to find myself again where I was before I came to Southampton. I scored a few goals, especially in the Europa League for Celtic, and that’s maybe where Ralph [Hasenhuttl] saw my strengths as a player, not just creating chances, but also as a goalscorer.
“The last pass and things that he can use, and I fit much better now to how he wants us to play, than perhaps when he first came in and we were struggling a bit. It was then all about staying in the Premier League, but now we are fighting for the top ten and that’s where we belong.”
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl admits Elyounoussi’s time north of the border has transformed the player. The attacker has features 20 times this season scoring seven goals to aid his teams charge into the top half of the table. The Austrian manager added:
“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’.”
The Celtic support was relatively split during the summer in regards to whether Celtic should have made a move to sign the Norwegian international permanently. Personally I thought the club were correct in thanking Elyounoussi for his efforts over the past two seasons and moving on.
The winger was clearly a good player but he was someone who blew hot and cold. He would sometimes look every inch the player Southampton splashed £16m on, providing both goals and assists and often being the best player on the pitch. Yet in other games he was invisible, offering the team absolutely nothing.
I also feel like he wouldn’t have been the type of player to flourish under Ange Postecoglou. Elyounoussi for all the talent he had reminded me somewhat of a Kris Commons type player, he could certainly come up with match winning moments but he wasn’t the type of player to give his all in helping out the team as a whole. I feel like he would have struggled with the demands our manager puts on his players which requires them to contribute in all facets of the game.
It’s good to hear him speak openly about the benefits of his move to Glasgow and how it got him back to playing at a level which he had clearly dipped below during his initial days on the south coast. Regarding Celtic, these words are also positive as it will provide the club with a perfect example of a player who came to us on loan and who we helped improve. This will help in the future when we are trying to convince clubs and players themselves that a move to Parkhead will further their careers.
Conall McGinty
