WHEN Russell Martin declared that signing a replacement for Nathan Tella was high on Saints’ priority list heading towards deadline day, it piqued supporters' interest.

Naturally, fans, and Martin himself, would have been eager to replace the academy graduate.

Tella had just returned from a successful loan in which he helped Burnley gain promotion to the Premier League, and had begun the campaign with a goal and an assist in his first three games.

So when Bayer Leverkusen came knocking with a £20million offer for the 25 year old, the club drew up a list of potential recruits. As it transpired, Tella's replacement was already at Staplewood.

During a hectic transfer window of comings and goings, Kamaldeen Sulemana could have departed in favour of a return to top-tier football. 

Daily Echo: Kamaldeen Sulemana netted an impressive double versus Liverpool on Sunday

He was the subject of reported interest from Everton on deadline day, however, no club were willing to stump up the cash needed to prise Saints' record signing away from the club.

The Ghanaian international arrived on the south coast to much fanfare during the January transfer window.

A product of the famed Right to Dream Academy in Ghana, the youngster joined Southampton from Rennes in a deal worth £23.5million.

Signed by Nathan Jones just before the Welshman was sacked, Sulemana didn't play as much football as he would have liked to.

But on the final day of the season, with Southampton's relegation fate already settled, he finally showed the St Mary's faithful what he is capable of.

The pre-summer sun set the tone for a shining breakout performance. He burst into space to crack his first Saints goal before running half the length of the field to double his tally in the same game. 

Speaking to the Daily Echo after the game, the 21 year old opened up on his tough first few months at Saints.

“When I came here that is what I wanted to do – set up goals and score to help the team to get results," he said. "Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do it but I got my goal.

“There’s a feeling of, why didn’t it come before, why didn’t I score before? But I am glad I have made my mark on the last day and showed what I can do on the good days.”

Southampton will be hoping that there are plenty more of those good days to come this season as they aim for promotion back to the Premier League.

Sulemana has the unique ability to make supporters shuffle to the edge of their seats in anticipation - which could be crucial in achieving those lofty goals.

Underpinned by his lightning-quick speed, he averaged 6.8 dribbles per 90 minutes during his short spell in the Premier League.

That total is impressive given that he only managed to play 966 minutes in the PL last season. Only Edozie (7.96) averaged more in a Saints shirt.

While Edozie, Sam Amo-Ameyaw and Ryan Fraser all offer direct options, Sulemana's ability to turn defenders inside out should set him ahead of the others when he returns to full fitness.

That ball-carrying ability was crucial for his former team Rennes, as it helped them move the ball into dangerous areas of the pitch. Saints will need him to replicate that this term.

The combination of raw pace and close-control dribbling even caught manager Martin by surprise.

"I'm really excited to try and get Kamaldeen back on the pitch as quickly as possible," he noted last month. "We only saw him for literally two training sessions and he got injured. 

“In one of them I nearly fell over when he was dribbling he was that quick - he’s an exciting talent."

While his dribbling can be easy on the eye when it works, he will need to improve his decision-making in the final third.

His 50 per cent dribble success rate could be higher if he was to offload the ball sooner, rather than attempt to beat the same defender multiple times.

Despite that, Sulemana is still capable of being a danger in the final third.

During his last full season in Ligue 1, he averaged 0.67 key passes per 90 and 1.41 shot assists per 90, in addition to his four goals and two assists.

Playing regularly in the Championship for a promotion-chasing Southampton side should help him refine his game in the final third, as it did for Tella last season.