Southampton’s transfer window is beginning to sizzle somewhat, after former Malaga youngster, Juanmi, penned a four-year contract with the south coast club. After such a bright season, Ronald Koeman was clearly going to have to seek out some creative new talent if he desired an even more successful finish next term.
The 22-year-old striker seemed to rapidly accept the bid from Saints and proceed to sign at St. Mary’s. Juanmi, or formally known as Juan Miguel Jiménez López, could be the player to meet the criteria upfront; when Graziano Pellè has dipped in form, there has been a real lack of presence up the field. This void must be filled. Granted, Sadio Mané has been instrumental in various victories for Southampton, but perhaps it’s time a team member such as Juanmi was the sole man to rely upon?
Despite a wealth of history playing in La Liga, Juanmi appears determined that the Premier League will suit his skillset more so. This sort of comment from the striker is just the kind of encouraging notion Saints might need to hear; since Koeman’s arrival, he has scouted players with not just excellent finesse, but those with an outstanding ethos towards the club, with bucketfuls of professionalism. If Juanmi is eager to get his boots stuck into southern soil, then he might just match the same template as the other newer, hardworking members. For instance, look at what Dušan Tadić and Pellè began to achieve at the beginning of the 2014/15 season – they were quite the formidable duo and really got things rumbling for Saints. This might have tapered off somewhat, but their original form was solely due to their commitment and drive to play well.
Last season, I feel Saints were very much the underdogs. Unless you’d visited the city or could just recall when they reached the FA Cup Final against Arsenal all those years ago (2003), they might not have been a team with which you identified. However, their sudden and immediate climb up the ranks meant that they were quite quickly under the spotlight – rightly so, too. The team looked in dire shape after most of its players left to scatter across other Premier League clubs, but no, Ronald Koeman did not let them suffer. Juanmi could just be the latest in Koeman’s super plan.
Juanmi is a young, fresh player with much under his belt from his many seasons spent with Malaga. At 16, he made his senior debut which included bagging a goal; he now stands the youngest player on record for the club to put ball to net. I think this makes me feel safely optimistic about how he could perform for Southampton, I don’t know about you.
Southampton’s first Premier League fixture kicks off on Saturday 8th August away against Newcastle; I guess we shall see what Juanmi’s made of then.
