RALPH Hasenhuttl was pleased with Mohammed Salisu's debut performance for Saints and added: "He's definitely a player for the future."

Salisu finally made his Saints bow against Wolves tonight, starting and keeping a clean sheet as Saints progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory.

It has been almost six months since the 21-year-old arrived on a £10.9million deal from Real Valladolid, but he had to wait until tonight's trip to Molineux for his debut due to health and injury problems.

Discussing Salisu's performance at centre-back alongside Jan Bednarek, Hasenhuttl said: "It was a very long wait for his debut. It’s not so easy to immediately find the game.

"He had not a lot of chances to train and then to step up immediately and play a good game is very good for him. This is the start.

"After this long time he was out, he is definitely a player that can help us in the future and that is the reason why we signed him."

Asked if Salisu was nervous ahead of his return, Hasenhuttl added: "No, definitely not. This guy has quality and is convinced about what he is doing and he was not a little bit nervous I think.

"What is important is he understands immediately what we are and I felt comfortable. The more we work, the easier it is for him to do the job. He is quick, he is strong, he has a good body, so he’s definitely a player for the future."