Southampton's record signing: There is more to come

Arriving at a club in a different country as their most expensive buy is one way to attract a lot of pressure and expectation.

In Sofiane Boufal's case, the anticipation for Southampton's record signing—bought for a fee worth a reported £16 million last summer—was heightened due to the long layoff from a knee injury which saw him miss the first five months of life on the South Coast.

The Moroccan international has impressed in bursts and has frustrated in equal measure—scoring two goals and only picking up one assist in his 20 appearances in all competitions for the Saints.

But the former Lille man is confident he will soon come good for Southampton, telling beIN Sport [H/T SFR Sport]: "The Premier League is a league that suits me, and the fans are soon going to see the real me. I’m sure of it. There’s more discipline in England, it’s a lot more work.

“We work a lot more. The mentality is completely different. Referees tend to let the play go on, to not blow their whistle too much. In France, refs protect players like me, but here, they don’t at all.”

With the rest of Southampton's 2016/17 Premier League campaign looking very much like a write-off, here's hoping Saints manager Claude Puel gives Boufal some time to get acclimated to English football further before the summer.