Lys Mousset has already scored as many goals in 13 matches for Sheffield United as he managed in 71 with Bournemouth.
Mousset netted his fifth for the Blades in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. The striker averages a goal every 117 minutes for the club he joined for £10m (BBC) in the summer.
For Cherries fans who watched Mousset score five times in three years at Dean Court, they might be wondering if this is the same player.
Yet perhaps the 23-year-old simply didn’t get the game time required to show his true talent. Mousset did only start 19 matches during his stint in Dorset.
That would certainly seem to be what Blades manager Chris Wilder is suggesting with his latest comments about the Frenchman.
“We’ve not done much different, if anything,” Wilder told the Yorkshire Post.
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“He’s just getting more opportunities here and sometimes, that’s just the way it goes for you at a club if there’s good players ahead of you.
“But there’s only so many times someone can say to you; ‘Be patient’.
“There’s nothing major, he’s just been given a chance here and he’s taking it. I believe he can get better as well.”
Do Bournemouth regret selling Mousset?
Mousset has as many goals this term, in far fewer minutes, as Cherries star striker Callum Wilson.
The former France Under-21 international also has two more than Joshua King in as many appearances. Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke has failed to find the back of the net this campaign in 15 outings.
All three were clearly ahead of Mousset in the pecking order under Eddie Howe. It’s early days, of course, but this could perhaps be viewed as an oversight.
However, Wilder has previously suggested that Howe didn’t want to sell Mousset at all. All he needed to do was give the forward more minutes on the pitch.
“We knew about him and, deep down, Eddie might not have wanted to move him on. But sometimes, if players don’t really see anything changing, it’s difficult not to let them go,” Wilder was quoted by the Bournemouth Echo.