Mohammed Salisu

Mohammed Salisu Abdul Karim (born 17 April 1999) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Ghana national team.

Mohammed Salisu
Salisu in 2019
Personal information
Full name Mohammed Salisu Abdul Karim[1]
Date of birth (1999-04-17) 17 April 1999[2]
Place of birth Kumasi, Ghana
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Monaco
Number 22
Youth career
2012–2013 Kumasi Barcelona Babies
2013–2015 WAFA
2017 African Talent Football Academy
2017–2018 Valladolid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Valladolid B 39 (1)
2019–2020 Valladolid 31 (1)
2020–2023 Southampton 68 (0)
2023– Monaco 0 (0)
International career‡
2022– Ghana 6 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:19, 18 March 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:31, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

Salisu started his senior career with Valladolid, featuring for the reserve side before making his first team debut in 2019. He made 34 appearances for the club before joining Southampton for a £10.9 million fee in 2020.

Club career

Early career

Born in Kumasi, Salisu started his career at his local youth club Kumasi Barcelona Babies before joining West African Football Academy in 2013.[3][4] He left the latter for personal reasons in 2015,[5] and then remained over a year without a club before impressing on a trial at the newly formed Nsawam branch of the African Talent Football Academy in March 2017.[6] In October 2017, he joined Real Valladolid's youth setup.[7]

2017–18 season

Salisu made his senior debut with the reserves on 28 January 2018, starting in a 4–2 Segunda División B home loss against Coruxo. On 1 March, he extended his contract until 2021.[8] He scored his first senior goal on 29 April, netting the equaliser in the 82nd minute of a 2–2 away draw against Racing Ferrol.[9]

2018–19 season

On 16 July 2018, Salisu was promoted to the senior Valladolid squad.[10] He made his professional debut on 9 January 2019, starting in a 1–0 away loss against Getafe in that season's Copa del Rey.[11] On 22 May 2019, Salisu extended his contract to keep him at the club until 2022.[12]

2019–20 season

He made his La Liga debut on 18 August, starting in a 2–1 away victory over Real Betis.[13] After the departure of Fernando Calero to Espanyol, Salisu became a starter for the Castile and León side, partnering Kiko Olivas.[14][15] On 26 October 2019, he scored his first professional goal by netting the second goal of a 2–0 home win against Eibar.[16]

2020–21 season

On 12 August 2020, Salisu joined Premier League club Southampton for a fee worth £10.9 million. The English club had triggered a buyout clause in the defender's contract with Salisu putting pen to paper on a four-year deal.[17] Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl hailed his new signing, saying he was a future prospect who had all the qualities to come to the Premier League and help Southampton.[17]

Mohammed is a player who fits our profile well. He is young and has a great amount of potential, but he is also someone who has the qualities to come in and help the team as soon as he is up to speed with our way of playing.

— Ralph Hasenhüttl hailing Salisu after signing him from Valladolid.[17]

Salisu had yet to feature for Southampton three months after he had signed with Hasenhüttl providing an update in November 2020, stating: ''There is still a way to go I think for being match fit, but I am very happy he's here. He's a long-term project and I am sure that he will play a lot of games for us.''[18]

Salisu made his Southampton debut on 11 February 2021, six months after signing for the club, playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 FA Cup away victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers as Danny Ings and Stuart Armstrong scored a goal each to send Southampton through to the quarter-finals of the competition.[19][20][21] He made his Premier League debut three days later when he came on in the 72nd minute to replace the injured Kyle Walker-Peters, also against Wolverhampton Wanderers ending with a 2–1 loss at home.[22][23] Salisu made his first Premier League start the following week in a 1–1 draw with Chelsea, putting in an impressive performance.[24]

Salisu playing for Southampton in 2022

2021–22 season

On 21 September 2021, Salisu scored his first professional goal for Southampton against Sheffield United in the EFL Cup which ended 2–2 at full time before Southampton advanced 4–2 on penalties.[25] On 28 December 2021, Salisu gave away a penalty and got a red card after receiving his second booking for a foul on Son Heung-Min, with the game against Tottenham Hotspur ending in a 1–1 draw.[26]

2022–23 season

Salisu made his first appearance of the season on 6 August 2022 in a 4–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.[27] Manager Rubén Sellés revealed in April 2023 that a recurring hip abductor injury was the reason for his continued absence throughout the season.[28]

Monaco

On 1 August 2023, Salisu joined Ligue 1 club Monaco on a five-year contract until July 2028.[29][30]

International career

In November 2019, Salisu received his first call-up to Ghana's senior squad, after being named by Kwesi Appiah in the squad for the 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa and São Tomé and Príncipe.[31] He withdrew from the squad citing injury problems.[32] In 2020, after C.K. Akonnor was appointed as manager of the national team, according to media speculation he made attempts to reach him but his efforts proved futile as seemed Salisu was not interested in playing for the team.[33][34] His family later came out with a statement to refute all the information within the public space that suggested his refusal to play for the national team. The statement read that '' We further wish to state unequivocally that our son is a proud Ghanaian and very ready to represent Ghana at every level and time''.[33][34] His elder brother later granted an interview on local radio station Angel FM talking about his brother's call up snub into the Black Starlets, the Ghana U-17 team whilst he was playing in Ghana, due his inability to pay to be in the team and not because his performance was substandard.[34]

In April 2021, during an interview with MozzartSport Kenya, Salisu stated that he would be proud to play for the national team, but also that he felt like it was not the right time for him to play, as he wanted to focus on his club career, instead.[32][35] In July 2022, the president of the Ghana FA, Kurt Okraku, officially announced that Salisu had finally agreed to represent the Black Stars.[36]

Salisu made his debut for Ghana on 23 September 2022, as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 friendly defeat against Brazil.[37] On 17 November 2022, Salisu scored his first goal in a friendly against Switzerland, which Ghana won 2–0.[38]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 18 February 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Valladolid B 2017–18[39] Segunda División B 131———131
2018–19[39] Segunda División B 260———260
Total 391000000391
Real Valladolid 2018–19[40] La Liga 0020——20
2019–20[41] La Liga 31110——321
Total 311300000341
Southampton 2020–21[42] Premier League 1203000—150
2021–22[43] Premier League 3401021—371
2022–23[44] Premier League 2201050—280
Total 680507100801
Career total 13828071001533
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup

International
As of match played 2 December 2022[45]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ghana 202262
Total62
As of match played 28 November 2022. Ghana score listed first, score column indicates score after each Salisu goal.[45]
List of international goals scored by Mohammed Salisu
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
117 November 2022Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates3  Switzerland1–02–0Friendly[38]
228 November 2022Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar5 South Korea1–03–22022 FIFA World Cup

References
  1. "Updated squad lists for 2022/23 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. "Mohammed Salisu: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  3. Afadzinu, Nene (11 August 2020). "Mohammed Salisu: Ghana's next defensive stalwart?". 3news. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. "Mohammed Salisu: Ghana's next defensive stalwart?". GhanaWeb. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  5. Ampofo, Owuraku (12 August 2020). "5 things you didn't know about Southampton's new signing Mohammed Salisu". Joy Sports. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  6. Anka, Carl (11 August 2020). "Bootless in Kumasi, a star in Spain: Mohammed Salisu's rise to Southampton". The Athletic. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  7. Adams, Nuhu (29 November 2017). "Feature: Nsawam-based African Talent Football Academy launches operations". Ghana Soccernet. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  8. "Salisú amplía su contrato hasta 2021" [Salisú extends his contract until 2021] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid CF. 1 March 2018. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  9. "Racing Ferrol 2–2 Real Valladolid II". Goal. Leeds: DAZN Group. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  10. "Salisú da el salto" [Salisú makes the jump] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid CF. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. Pérez, José (9 January 2019). "Ángel sale al rescate" [Ángel comes to the rescue]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  12. "Salisu amplía contrato hasta 2022" [Salisu extends contract until 2022] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid CF. 22 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  13. Darkwah, Frank (19 August 2019). "Spanish La Liga side Real Valladolid commends Mohammed Salisu for making senior debut". Ghana Sports Online. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  14. Martínez, Carlos Raúl (26 August 2019). "Salisu pisa fuerte en su debut en la máxima categoría" [Salisu comes out strong in his debut in the top tier]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  15. Leone, Alessandro (18 October 2019). "Salisu, el muro del Valladolid" [Salisu, the wall of Valladolid]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  16. Fayiga, Kunle (26 October 2019). "Salisu nets first ever Valladolid goal in 2–0 win over Eibar". Goal. Leeds: DAZN Group. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  17. "Mohammed Salisu: Southampton sign defender from Real Valladolid". Sky Sports. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  18. Rose, Dan (20 November 2020). "Salisu still has 'a way to go' before match fitness, says Hasenhuttl". Southern Daily Echo. Southampton: Newsquest. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  19. Narkortu Teye, Prince (11 February 2021). "Mohammed Salisu: Ghanaian centre-back makes Southampton debut after six months". Goal. Leeds: DAZN Group. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  20. Morgan, Richard (11 February 2021). "Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–2 Southampton". Sky Sports. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  21. Amoasi Appiah, Samuel Ekow (11 February 2021). "Mohammed Salisu makes Southampton debut in FA Cup win over Wolverhampton". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  22. Chowdhury, Saj (14 February 2021). "Southampton 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  23. Crocker, Tom (14 February 2021). "Saints dealt fresh Kyle Walker-Peters injury blow". Southern Daily Echo. Southampton: Newsquest. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  24. Smyth, Rob (20 February 2021). "Southampton 1–1 Chelsea". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  25. "Sheffield United 2–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  26. Reddy, Luke (28 December 2021). "Southampton 1–1 Tottenham: 10-man Saints hold Spurs at St Mary's". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  27. Bysouth, Alex (6 August 2022). "Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  28. Wyatt, Mark (14 April 2023). "'We cannot' - Ruben Selles answers Mohammed Salisu commitment question as hip injury revealed". Hampshire Live. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  29. Chédeville, Damien (1 August 2023). "Mohammed Salisu joins AS Monaco". AS Monaco. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  30. "Mohammed Salisu: Southampton defender completes move to AS Monaco". BBC Sport. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  31. Teye, Prince Narkortu (17 November 2019). "Afcon 2021 qualifying: Ghana call up Real Valladolid prodigy Salisu in 23-man squad". Goal.com. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  32. Tahiru, Fentuo (26 April 2021). ""I will play for Ghana but I'm not ready yet" – Mohammed Salisu". Citi Sports Online. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  33. "C.K Akonnor justifies the omission of Mohammed Salisu in 23-man squad for Mali friendly". Citi Sports Online. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  34. "The inside story of why Mohammed Salisu is allegedly unwilling to play for Ghana". GhanaWeb. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  35. Teye, Prince Narkortu (26 April 2021). "Mohammed Salisu: Southampton defender gives latest update on playing for Ghana | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  36. Eleto, Clinton (5 July 2022). "Breaking News: Tariq Lamptey and four other new players complete Ghana Black Stars switch". Sahara Football. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  37. "Brazil vs.Ghana". Soccerway.com. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  38. "Ghana vs. Switzerland 2–0: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  39. "M. Salisu". Soccerway. DAZN Group. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  40. "Games played by Mohammed Salisu in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  41. "Games played by Mohammed Salisu in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  42. "Games played by Mohammed Salisu in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  43. "Games played by Mohammed Salisu in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  44. "Games played by Mohammed Salisu in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  45. "Salisu, Mohammed". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
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