![\"Kamaldeen](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0_GettyImages-1463444560-696x463.jpg\" "\\"Kamaldeen")
Southampton forward Kamaldeen Sulemana has opened up on it being \u201chard mentally\u201d dropping in and out of the team despite taking on the pressure of being the club\u2019s record signing.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old suggested conversations held when he sought a move to the\u00a0Premier League\u00a0indicated he would play a bigger role \u2013 but there was a management change in the middle.<\/p>\n
Kamaldeen arrived from Stade Rennes for a fee of around 25 million Euros on deadline day but manager Nathan Jones, who wanted power and potency, was sacked just 12 days later.<\/p>\n
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Kamaldeen remained in the team under Ruben Selles until being dropped following a 2-0 defeat to Brentford \u2013 with the Ghanaian then only starting four of the Premier League\u2019s final 11 matches.<\/p>\n
The youngster returned to the XI on the last day of the season for the first time in a month and netted twice in a 4-4 draw with Liverpool, including a sublime solo goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might have been too late but I\u2019m glad I finally have my goal, it\u2019s good for me,\u201d Kamaldeen reflected, speaking to the Daily Echo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came here that is what I wanted to do \u2013 set up goals and score to help the team to get results. Unfortunately, I wasn\u2019t able to do it but I got my goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a feeling of, why didn\u2019t it come before, why didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI would say that\u00a0football\u00a0can be very hard sometimes, especially with the situation we\u2019ve been in \u2013 it\u2019s been the hardest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to play every game and that is the conversation we had and one of the main reasons I tried to move from France \u2013 to get game time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I saw the situation I felt like I could help. That\u2019s why I came here but since I arrived it has been difficult with the game time, I don\u2019t start some\u00a0games\u00a0and have to come in from the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it is based on my physicals, I didn\u2019t have enough playing time in France and the physios and coaches have tried to take care of me, but sometimes it has been tactical.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been hard mentally to not play but I am still young and learning how to make a difference in the team and from the bench, and I have had both \u2013 this is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kamaldeen was signed on deadline day alongside former Genk striker, Paul Onuachu, who has played even less of a role at St Mary\u2019s with no goals and just 11 league appearances.<\/p>\n
But the money spent on Kamaldeen eclipsed Onuachu\u2019s \u00a318million fee and the fee the club paid for strikers Guido Carillo and Danny Ings in seasons gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing the record signing of the club everyone expects a lot from you, especially when we are in a situation like this to come in,\u201d Kamaldeen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I knew what the situation was and knew I could take the pressure. I believed that I could help the team but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn\u2019t. The situation became hard, it\u2019s a learning stage for me and I will take it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sport Republic CEO Rasmus Ankersen, in a new interview with the Daily Echo, indicated the club intend on keeping some of their best talents this summer despite relegation.<\/p>\n
Kamaldeen, however, was already a target of Premier League survivors Everton in the recent January window and will have alerted clubs to his presence with a timely final-day brace.<\/p>\n
He insists he does not know where his future lies, admitting: \u201cI\u2019m going to take it from here, I have scored the goals to make my mark on the fans and I am happy on the last day so we will take it from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy future is not in my hands, we don\u2019t know what the future holds. If I am here for the pre-season I will be here and will be ready to put all the hard work needed to bring\u00a0Southampton\u00a0back where it belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the move to England, Kamaldeen added: \u201cMy life outside has been train, go home, train, go home. It has been strictly football. How to get better and how to improve the team, so I haven\u2019t really explored Southampton!<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have had a tough weekend it is hard to go outside and do other stuff so I have been strictly inside, focussed on what I have to do to play and to support the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is easier speaking English, when I arrived in France it was harder, in the beginning, to speak French and adapt but here I need no translation, you fit in the dressing room, you understand the tactics and everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have to do anything by yourself, it is also easier. I would say life has been easier because of the English but also hard because of the football situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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