In just his second appearance in the Premier League, this man made quite the impression.
Ravaged by injuries with the likes of Sadio Mane, Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and plenty of others missing, Southampton headed north to Newcastle on Saturday after beating Manchester United 1-0 away last Sunday and then Ipswich away by the same scoreline on Wednesday.
[ Archive: Premier League Player of the Week ]
A weary and depleted Saints squad dug deep to beat Newcastle 2-1 at St James’ Park to remain third in the PL table as Southampton’s fans have a new hero: Eljero Elia.
The Dutch winger, who signed in January from Werder Bremen on a loan deal until the end of the season, drilled them ahead early on and netted a fine second half strike as the winger gambled twice and it paid off.
Known as the ‘Dutch Mario Balotelli’ it is safe to say Elia burned his bridges at plenty of other clubs including the likes of Juventus and Hamburg in the past. At the age of 27 he was handed a lifeline by Saints boss Ronald Koeman to reignite his career. Elia has grabbed that chance, and after scoring the first goal he ran straight to Koeman for a huge hug to thank him for giving him a chance.
The Dutch international winger is the PL Player of the Week for round 22, as he and the Saints march on.
Premier League Player of the Week
Week 1: Raheem Sterling, Liverpool
Week 2: Nacer Chadli, Tottenham Hotspur
Week 3: Diego Costa, Chelsea
Week 4: Diego Costa, Chelsea
Week 5: Frank Lampard, Manchester City
Week 6: Edin Dzeko, Manchester City
Week 7: David De Gea, Manchester United
Week 8: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
Week 9: Wilfried Bony, Swansea City
Week 10: Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
Week 11: Shane Long, Southampton
Week 12: Danny Ings, Burnley
Week 13: Lee Cattermole, Sunderland
Week 14: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
Week 15: Andy Carroll, West Ham
Week 16: Olivier Giroud, Arsenal
Week 17: Charlie Austin, Queens Park Rangers
Week 18: Eden Hazard, Chelsea
Week 19: Mame Diouf, Stoke City
Week 20: Frank Lampard, Manchester City
Week 21: Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
Week 22: Eljero Elia, Southampton