Southampton took their time confirming the appointment of Russell Martin, but the new Saints manager is seemingly wasting no time in compiling a squad capable of earning an instant promotion from the Championship.
According to The Athletic, Russell is set to make Derrick Abu his first signing at St Mary's following the right-back's release from Chelsea last month.
Who is Derrick Abu?
Abu made headlines for non-footballing reasons last year when pursuing a second career as a rapper with the release of his debut single Life's Changing. Under the moniker 'Cho$en', Abu is hopeful he can continue making music and make it big one day.
The 19-year-old still has a shot at making it at the top as a footballer, even if his career took a setback when being released by his boyhood club after more than a decade in West London.
The German-born England U17 international did not make a senior appearance for Chelsea, but he featured eight times in Premier League 2 for the Blues last season and also had a trial with Crystal Palace.
Could Derrick Abu be the next Tino Livramento?
Southampton have clearly seen enough in Abu to take a low-risk punt on a player on as little as £3.4k per month at Chelsea, as per Salary Sport.
The Saints have a good recent record of signing a right-back from Chelsea, with Tino Livramento arriving at St Mary's for a small fee of £5m in August 2021.
Like Abu, Livramento also spent 11 years at Stamford Bridge without being given a shot at first-team action. However, after impressing for the Saints in his first season, before being restricted to just two outings last season due to injury, the 20-year-old could be on his way back to the Premier League.
Chelsea are one of a handful of big-name sides in the running to sign Livramento, meaning Martin is in need of a new right-back to plug the gap. Besides the fact they are both right-backs with Chelsea roots and a similar age, there are plenty of other similarities between the two players.
For example, Abu – who stands at 5 foot 10, picked up four yellow cards in Premier League 2 last season, matching the number received by Livramento from his 20 appearances in that competition in 2020-21 prior to joining Southampton.
Southampton are hardly signing the youngster based on that disciplinary quirk, of course, but he also shares similarities with Livramento in terms of their attacking nature, with both men just as happy to play as wing-backs.
As pointed out by Daily Echo writer Reece Barrett, Abu is a "brilliant" prospect who shows "lightning-fast acceleration and natural crossing ability". Only two Southampton players crossed the ball more times than Livramento (62) in the 2021-22 Premier League season, so it could be a like-for-like swap in that regard.
Buying a player with no senior experience is always a risk, but if history is anything to go by, Southampton could be about to land themselves another gem at Chelsea's expense. With Championship football on the horizon, there is certainly less pressure than a relegation scrap too.
