‘He’s a good finisher’ – Mauricio Pellegrino praises Ireland underage star Michael Obafemi

Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino praised Ireland U19 striker Michael Obafemi as a good finisher following his Premier League debut against Tottenham on Sunday.

Obafemi, born in Ireland and raised in England, came on for Saints striker Manolo Gabbiadini in the 82nd minute but squandered a late chance to seal a win for Southampton when he was inches away from turning a cross home. Despite the miss, Pellegrino insists that the 17-year-old is a good finisher, with the Dubliner netting nine goals in 11 appearances for the Saints U-18 team this season. "I think he's a really fast player," said Pellegrino in his post-match interview. https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/status/955214859745939456 "I think the spirit is the most important quality but also he's a good finisher and I observed that their back four was really high and he will have some chances. "He was there really close but it's the beginning of his career, still he has to grow a lot but to us, that we have had a good history with our home-grown players, Michael is one more." Obafemi revealed that he thought he would be playing with the U18 side on Saturday but that Pellegrino pulled him aside and informed him that he would be training with the first-team squad instead. https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/status/955151389801328640 https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/status/955096730114048000