Scottish rough and tumble was the makingofSaintMo
Mohamed Elyounoussi insists that his two seasons on loan at Celtic helped transform him from expensive flop to top scorer with Southampton.
The Saints paid Basle £16 million to sign the Norway winger in the summer of 2018, but he had a disastrous debut campaign, making 19 appearances without scoring.
However, he now admits that his time in the rough and tumble of the Premiership helped to make a man of him and, after scoring 25 times in 68 games for the Hoops, he’s now a regular for Ralf Hasenhuttl’s side, with four goals in 10 games.
Elyounoussi won championship, Scottish Cup and League Cup winner’s medals at Parkhead before it all went sour, but he insists that he is better for his experience north of the border.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world but, from a physical point of view, Scotland is a lot similar,” said the 27-year-old.
“I came from the Swiss league, which was much more about playing on the ground, and playing football.
“That technical aspect was much more important than physicality. There was not a lot of challenges.
“I had to adapt to that in the Premier League, and again when I went to Celtic.
“I think I did that quite well at Celtic. I played a lot of games as a striker against big, tall defenders, so I had to hold the ball.
“That was something I wasn’t used to, but I learned how to do it.
“Sometimes I was a target man, with the ball being played up to me! Even on the corners, I was the main man.
“All the European games with Celtic have been really good for me, especially for the confidence.”
Elyounoussi believes that he’s become a more rounded player due to his spell in Scotland.
“Even though when I was in Basel we played in the Champions League and we played against good teams, there wasn’t a lot of challenges where you have to go into 50-50 duels,” he admits.
“Now I feel like I’m more comfortable going in, and much more comfortable shielding the ball. That was new to me.
“In general, it was a really good experience to go to Celtic.
“A huge club, with amazing fans, and I tried to find myself back to where I was before I came to Southampton.
“I grew as a player, and as a human being, over the two years I was at Celtic.
“I learned a lot about myself. It was a good experience.”