Southampton Set To Sign Livramento Replacement At St Mary’s

Southampton took their time confirming the appointment of Russell Martin, however the brand new Saints supervisor is seemingly losing no time in compiling a squad able to incomes an prompt promotion from the Championship.

In response to The Athletic, Russell is about to make Derrick Abu his first signing at St Mary’s following the right-back’s launch from Chelsea final month.

Who’s Derrick Abu?

Abu made headlines for non-footballing causes final yr when pursuing a second career as a rapper with the discharge of his debut single Life’s Altering. Underneath the moniker ‘Cho$en’, Abu is hopeful he can proceed making music and make it large at some point.

The 19-year-old nonetheless has a shot at making it on the high as a footballer, even when his profession took a setback when being released by his boyhood club after greater than a decade in West London.

The German-born England U17 worldwide didn’t make a senior look for Chelsea, however he featured eight instances in Premier League 2 for the Blues final season and in addition had a trial with Crystal Palace.

May Derrick Abu be the subsequent Tino Livramento?

Southampton have clearly seen sufficient in Abu to take a low-risk punt on a participant on as little as £3.4k per month at Chelsea, as per Wage Sport.

The Saints have a great current document of signing a right-back from Chelsea, with Tino Livramento arriving at St Mary’s for a small fee of £5m in August 2021.

Like Abu, Livramento additionally spent 11 years at Stamford Bridge with out being given a shot at first-team motion. Nonetheless, after impressing for the Saints in his first season, earlier than being restricted to just two outings last season because of damage, the 20-year-old may very well be on his method again to the Premier League.

Chelsea are considered one of a handful of big-name sides in the running to sign Livramento, which means Martin is in want of a brand new right-back to plug the hole. In addition to the very fact they’re each right-backs with Chelsea roots and an analogous age, there are many different similarities between the 2 gamers.

For instance, Abu – who stands at 5 foot 10, picked up four yellow cards in Premier League 2 final season, matching the number received by Livramento from his 20 appearances in that competitors in 2020-21 previous to becoming a member of Southampton.

Southampton are hardly signing the teenager based mostly on that disciplinary quirk, after all, however he additionally shares similarities with Livramento when it comes to their attacking nature, with each males simply as completely happy to play as wing-backs.

As identified by Each day Echo author Reece Barrett, Abu is a “good” prospect who reveals “lightning-fast acceleration and natural crossing ability“. Solely two Southampton gamers crossed the ball more times than Livramento (62) within the 2021-22 Premier League season, so it may very well be a like-for-like swap in that regard.

Shopping for a participant with no senior expertise is at all times a threat, but when historical past is something to go by, Southampton may very well be about to land themselves one other gem at Chelsea’s expense. With Championship soccer on the horizon, there’s definitely much less strain than a relegation scrap too.