I’D LOVE TO PUT SWAN OBA MY OLD SAINTS PALS
MICHAEL OBAFEMI wants to bring his old Southampton team-mates crashing down to earth by dumping them out of the FA Cup.
The south coast side are riding the crest of a wave after being taken over by Serbian businessman Dragan Solak’s Sport Republic group this week.
But striker Obafemi, who quit Saints to join Swansea in the summer, has vowed to be wreck their party mood. Obafemi, 21, said: “The takeover is a good thing for Southampton because maybe they can challenge for the European places again.
“This game is definitely exciting because I get to see the boys who I played with from the beginning of my career again.
“Nathan Redmond, Kyle Walker-Peters and Nathan Tella are all big mates of mine and they helped me when I was there. It will be weird being on the opposing side but I’ve just got to be relentless. We are friends off the pitch but on the pitch it’s a game of football. I will give my teammates as much help as I can, letting them know what Southampton like to do.”
Obafemi joined Saints from Leyton Orient as a teenager and scored four goals in 32 Premier League games. The Republic of Ireland international said: “It was a hard decision to leave but I was not playing a lot and I believed in myself to go elsewhere and challenged myself to get back in the Premier League.
“That is the aim: to serve Swansea well, do my best for the club, and get back to the Premier League.
“I have already fallen in love with Swansea. Russell Martin is an amazing manager. He has his way of playing, just like Ralph Hasenhuttl does at Southampton, and he sticks to it. I really admire that.
“We want to do well in the league and get promoted but we also want to get as far in the FA Cup as we possibly can.”