MOUSSA Djenepo will today link up with the Saints squad for the first time.

The Mali international signed for £14m from Standard Liege back in June to become manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first signing.

However, because of Mali’s stint in the Africa Cup of Nations, he was given an extended break before being asked to return for pre-season.

His first day with the team in Dublin will coincide with Hasenhuttl’s return from China.

 

 

The Austrian and a selection of first team players boarded a plane shortly after the final whistle in Macau so that they could continue their preparations for the new season.

And despite it only being a short trip, it proved to a successful one.

Che Adams and Shane Long netted goals in the 4-0 win along with defenders Yan Valery and Christoph Klarer.

Like Djenepo, Adams also joined the club this summer, with Hasenhuttl putting an emphasis on strengthening his attacking department.

The ex-Birmingham ace has proved to hit the ground running since signing and seems to have a knack for an early goal.

It took him just two minutes to get on the scoresheet against SCR Altach but he managed to ripple the back in under 60 seconds during the game with Guangzhou.

And Djenepo will be hoping for a similar impact.

His first chance to play for Saints could come against Feyenoord this weekend.

The St Mary’s side will travel to Holland following their week in Dublin to play their fifth pre-season friendly – the extra game coming behind closed doors against Brentford.

Due to playing in the Africa Cup of Nations this summer, Djenepo will join the squad with a good level of fitness which should allow him to get stuck into Saints training straightaway.

He arrives from a breakthrough season with Standard Liege, where the pacy attacker bagged 11 goals in 38 appearances to help them finish third in the First Division A.

This led to his inclusion in Mali’s AFCON squad, with his standout performance coming in their loss to Ivory Coast in the last 16.

Upon signing for Saints, Hasenhuttl described Djenepo to the club’s official website: “He is an exciting player, with tremendous pace and good finishing abilities.

“We have been impressed with how he has adapted to football in Europe and the impact he has had in many games, and we had an interest in him as recently as January.

“He combines his quality with a good mentality and he is the right profile of player that we want to sign.

“I think he will be an excellent fit for our style of play and shape, and these are the important characteristics we must look for.”