Man Utd and Chelsea target Mohammed Salisu left out of Southampton squads due to 'doubts over his commitment'

Manchester United and Chelsea target Mohammed Salisu has been left out of Southampton squads due to alleged 'doubts over his commitment', according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Salisu signed for the Saints from Spanish side Real Valladolid in 2020, and is in his third season at St Mary's Stadium.

He struggled for consistent game time during his first campaign, but the Ghana centre-back settled into Ralph Hasenhuttl's starting XI in his second season and impressed.

Speaking in January 2022 after his man of the match performance against Manchester City, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC's Match of the Day: "He deserves all the credit he gets. It was the best I have seen him play for Southampton, and I've done a lot of their games.

"He didn't stop, even in the last minute, he stayed on his feet, didn't jump in and he wasn't erratic at all.

"Any one of them could have been man of the match, but we were watching it and we were saying, 'It's Salisu again, it's Salisu again'. It was like a magnet to him."

His performances led to reported interest from Manchester United and Chelsea in signing him, as per Football Insider.

The defender also represented his nation at last year's World Cup - but along with the rest of the Southampton side, this campaign has been more challenging for the 23-year-old.

Salisu left out of Southampton squad

According to Ornstein, via his column in The Athletic, Salisu has been left out of recent Southampton squads due to 'doubts over his commitment'.

It is claimed that the Ghana defender has missed games against West Ham and Manchester City recently due to an 'unspecified injury' suffered during the international break, but he returned to training the following week.

Furthermore, Ornstein adds that Salisu prefers to enter talks with the Saints at the end of the season before agreeing to a new contract, with his existing deal due to expire next summer. It is said that the chances of a new deal being agreed are 'increasingly unlikely' - and those chances will surely only decrease if Southampton get relegated from the Premier League.

Ruben Selles' side are currently four points from safety, and sit bottom of the division. They face Arsenal, Newcastle, Brighton and Liverpool in their last eight games of the campaign.