Will Still’s Juma Bah praise shows why Southampton want ‘very good’ £5m Man City starlet
New Southampton coach Will Still needs no introduction as to the talents of Juma Bah, the giant Sierre Leone centre-back who spent half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan from Manchester City at RC Lens.
While EFL Analysis have learned via football correspondent Graeme Bailey that Juma Bah is likely to leave Man City for another club outside of English football this summer, the identity of the new man in the St Mary’s dugout means that no one is ruling out Southampton at this stage.
Technical director Johannes Spors is keen to support Will Still by once again making the Saints home to some of the most exciting young talent around.
Only 19 years of age but capped twice already by the Sierra Leone national team, Bah certainly feels like a natural fit. On paper, certainly, and also from both a tactical and financial perspective.
Southampton have signed Joshua Quarshie from Hoffenheim already.
And, according to The Express, the Saints are very much in contention for another extremely highly-rated central defender as they look to reinforce a backline breached 86 times during a miserable Premier League campaign in 2024/25.
Will Still praised Southampton target and Manchester City starlet Juma Bah
In a rather unique move, Juma Bah triggered his own £5 million release clause before swapping Real Valladolid for Manchester City in the January transfer window, per The Athletic.
Of course, the teenager will have been reimbursed by the eight-time Premier League champions, though this matters little for a Valladolid side frustrated by the contentious nature of his departure.
But after he was loaned out to Lens for the second half of the Ligue 1 campaign, Will Still had little interest in how Bah’s switch to the Etihad Stadium came about. All he cared about was the 6ft 5in centre-back’s obvious potential.
Potential Still may look to further realise should player and coach be reunited at Southampton.
“His game? Very good,” Ivan Juric’s replacement said back in March, Bah making eight starts during four months in France’s top flight.
“He has a significant physical and athletic presence.”
Predictably, considering we are talking about a player who only turned 19 in April and has just 22 first-team league appearances under his belt, Juma Bah has plenty of rough edges.
Yet, it is no coincidence that Lens kept clean sheets on four of the eight games in which the teenager started in their colours.
“He still needs to learn how to push back the [defensive] block and get out faster. He had a big problem with his body orientation when he arrived,” Still added, highlighting the mistake Bah made in a 2-0 defeat by Strasbourg when he was caught square on and beaten easily by Dilane Bakwa.
“He’s doing some interesting things. It’s up to us to remain demanding. He’s still a young guy, and we’ll continue to help him.”
Former La Liga defender is aligned with ‘the DNA of Will Still’s team’
Unsurprisingly, considering that it was Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City who took the plunge on one of Africa’s emerging defensive talents, Juma Bah is extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet. He completed 94 per cent of his passes in Ligue 1.
In comments which should really hold the attention of the Southampton fans, meanwhile, Lens’ general manager Benjamin Parrot explained in great detail back in January why Juma Bah was such a good fit for a Will Still system.
“Blessed with significant athleticism and a good reading of the game, Juma already displays a developed range of skills,” Parrot said.
“He has been monitored by our recruitment team for many months and his arrival confirms the sporting management’s desire to strengthen the team with a defender who is fast and strong in duels.
