Bella-Kotchap Speaks About Southampton Future...

Armel Bella-Kotchap has spoken to the media in his native Germany about his exclusion by Russell Martin and his

immediate future at St Mary’s following Ivan Juric’s appointment as manager.

According to the Daily Echo, Bella-Kotchap has been in talks with Southampton’s management and has been assured

that new manager Ivan Duric will allow him to revive his career at St Mary’s.

Bella-Kotchap explained to Bild.

“After being relegated from Southampton in 2023, I joined PSV Eindhoven on loan.

“I was injured and never got into the step. When I returned to England in the summer, the coach preferred to rely on

his promotion team.

“He didn’t like that I wanted to leave following relegation, but I wanted to take the next step at the moment, which I

thought was appropriate.

“With these two points of view, we never truly came together. For the past two days, I’ve been speaking with the

club’s managers extensively.

“They assured me they care a lot about me and that I get my chance under the new coach. I know that I now first

have to fight back into the team.

“I’m burning for that. But it is also important for me that I re-set the environment in my situation. I have to bring my

performance, I can’t influence more.”

Saints supporters have long thought that Russell Martin had his favourites and also those that he would not play.

Bella-Kotchap added:

“I also want to make myself interesting again for the national team. I want to get to where I’ve been before as soon as possible.

“I like it here in England, I make no secret of it. I would like to assert myself in the Premier League. But I don’t want to close doors either.

“My willingness to move to Hoffenheim has shown that I can imagine the Bundesliga very well. This continues to apply to my future.”

While the St Mary’s faithful will be disappointed to learn that the German International did not want to play in the

Championship, he was far from the only member of the squad who felt this way; some stayed, while others went out

on a permanent or loan basis, and the likes of Tall Paul Onuachu, for example, have returned and shown fight, and

he, in particular, has turned the supporters’ opinion of him around.

Before leaving for PSV in the summer of 2023, the player was also pursued by German clubs such as Borrussia

Dortmund and Bayern Munich, demonstrating how well-regarded he is in Germany.

That makes it even more frustrating that Russell Martin completely ignored him after returning to the club and

demonstrating a willingness to play. While it is understandable that Martin would want to give his promoted side a

chance, it was clear from the start that the defence was a shambles and was constantly getting caught out; a good

football manager will use the players he has at his disposal, not show favouritism.

Given that Martin played him for 26 minutes at Cardiff, it was clear that he was fit, but was ostracised by the

manager for no real good reason other than he had gone out on loan. Comparisons can be made to Jan Bednarek,

who at the start of the 22/23 season went on loan to Aston Villa, but returned in January and put in a shift ironically

alongside Bella-Kotchap to try and save Saints from relegation, he showed that he could rebuild his reputation with

Southampton supporters,

Of course, Bella-Kotchap must prioritise his career, and he has stated that he may still move in the January transfer

window, but for the time being, he is ready and willing to play, and hopefully Ivan Juric will give every player an

equal opportunity and do what is best for the club by playing the best players rather than favourites.

Bella-Kotchap Speaks About Southampton Future