Southampton might commit a huge blunder by signing Shoya Nakajima
According to The Sun, Southampton and Leicester City are interested in making a move for Portimonense’s Japanese international Shoya Nakajima in January. However, the Saints are believed to be leading the race to sign the left-winger in a £15million deal.
It has been a dismal start to the season for Southampton and Mark Hughes’ men languish 17th in the standings, just above Cardiff City on goal difference. The Saints have managed only a solitary victory from their first 12 games in the Premier League but something that they should be wary of is the failure to turn draws into wins.
In fact, Southampton have drawn as many as five games so far in the Premier League. Much of their woes have been down to the failure of the strikers to find the net on a consistent basis. A scoring record of 8 goals from 12 games is not something that would please Mark Hughes too much.
The Saints signed Danny Ings on loan from Liverpool but the 26-year-old English international hasn’t hit top gear this term, scoring only 4 goals so far.
However, he has been the brightest spark of Southampton’s otherwise toothless forward line. Charlie Austin and Shane Long have misfired in almost all the games and neither of them has opened their scoring account for the season. Manolo Gabbiadini, on the other hand, has looked way off the pace and a glaring misfit for the Premier League.
Mohamed Elyounoussi made his move to the St. Mary’s from Basel with a huge reputation for scoring goals and providing assists but he hasn’t been able to add that much-needed impetus to Southampton’s attack from the right. His counterpart on the left, Nathan Redmond, hasn’t done much better either.
As evident from the performances, Mark Hughes needs more firepower in his squad to lift the Saints up the table. If the first twelve games of the season are anything to go by, Southampton might find it really difficult to avoid the drop this term, having barely managed to stay afloat in the last season.
To put things into perspective, Southampton need proven Premier League players to turn their fortunes around. The gamble to sign Elyounoussi in the summer has backfired blatantly and there is a good chance that the Saints might face similar consequences with the signing of Shoya Nakajima.
Granted, the Japanese international has been in tremendous form since making his move to the Portuguese top flight last season. He registered an impressive 10 goals and 10 assists last season in the league and has hit the ground running this term as well, scoring 4 goals and providing 3 assists.
Nakajima is a player blessed with a good technique and uses his blistering pace to run at defenders down the left-hand side of the pitch. He not only has a good eye for goal but also has that vision and awareness to pick out the runs of his teammates.
However, a player standing at 5ft. 4 inches with a lean frame is not what Southampton need to bolster their attack. He is likely to be outmuscled by the physical presence of the defenders in the Premier League. Moreover, the Premier League being more competitive than the Portuguese League, Nakajima is not likely to enjoy such massive open spaces to run into.
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Southampton should take lessons from Yoshinori Muto and Bernard, both of whom are of similar stature and are struggling to cope with the demands of the Premier League.
That said, Southampton should not get carried away by Nakajima’s numbers and invest in a proven Premier League player in January.
