Kamaldeen disagrees with that suggestion and has opened up on the pressures he has faced during his time at Southampton.

The Ghana international has kickstarted his Saints career under Ivan Juric, becoming a key player for the Croatian manager.

His transformation follows a difficult spell under former boss Russell Martin, which saw him rarely used.

“There is a lot of misunderstanding,” Kamaldeen insisted in Southampton’s matchday programme. “I was out for two months and I came back and there’s expectations.

“I am the transfer record, so on my first day back I was expected to be the best player on the pitch. That’s when the pressure kicks in.

Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana during their FA Cup defeat to Burnley at St Mary’s. “People don’t understand the whole picture. You need a run of games, you need to be trusted, you need game time, you need confidence from the coaches and the players.

“I felt like sometimes I was alone in a battle. I get a lot of stick, I get a lot of bad comments and some people question my character.”

He continued: “There are so many things I’ve seen out there, people think I’ve got an attitude problem and that’s the reason why I wasn’t playing.

“But I’ve never, ever disrespected anybody in the club. I’m always on time. When I’m on the pitch I work as hard as I can.”

Kamaldeen asserted that he has had to work harder than others in order to get a chance, especially after being branded with a bad attitude.

“I even work better at it given the situation because I knew I had to work double if I was to get a chance,” he outlined. “I never really played but I was always giving my best.

“When I see stuff like ‘he’s got an attitude problem,’ I don’t know where that’s coming from.

“When it comes from people with followings and they look like trusted journalists, when they bring something out that isn’t true, everyone picks up on it.

“The whole fanbase is falling for their tricks. They tend to be harder on you just because they’ve heard you have a bad attitude.

“There is nothing to show you have a bad attitude, they’ve just heard it from a source that they trust.

“At the training ground, the coaches are telling me that I’m training good and the players tell me I’m training good.

“Unless you are telling me my coaches are lying? My teammates are lying? I’ve never been told I’m training badly, even when I wasn’t playing.

“One thing I’ve always said: if, when I wasn’t playing under the previous coach, I wasn’t training well, do you think this coach now would play me immediately?

“I’m not perfect, I’ve seen great players make mistakes over and over again, but what defines them is how they respond.”

Kamaldeen joined Saints from Rennes for £22million and the pressure of being Southampton’s record signing has clearly had an impact on him.

He went over a year without scoring for Saints, in fact, he never scored under the previous manager Martin.

A goal against Swansea City in the Carabao Cup was his first since bagging a brace in a thrilling 4-4 draw with Liverpool on the final day of 2022/23.

“I’m the transfer record here, so ever since I got here there’s always been big pressure on me,” he explained.

“Sometimes I feel like I play quite well, but if the team don’t win, I don’t score and I don’t assist I haven’t fulfilled my task as a striker or as a winger.

not enough, because I’m regarded as the transfer record and I should always be the one doing everything to get the club where it needs to be.”

 Moorhouse).Kamaldeen has only scored three goals for Saints but has looked more dangerous since the appointment of Ivan Juric.

It was his effort that led to Southampton’s winner at Ipswich Town – Arijanet Muric spilling his shot into Paul Onuachu’s path.

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