Ex-Southampton star Jo Tessem is of the view that Newcastle United loanee Ryan Fraser has Premier League quality and has advised the Saints to sign him for next season.
Newcastle agreed to let the 29-year-old winger join Southampton on a season-long loan in the summer after not featuring for them since October 2022.
Fraser has featured 28 times for Southampton so far in the Championship this season and has scored six times while laying on two assists.
The winger scored a goal in Southampton’s win against West Bromwich on Friday and Tessem hailed Fraser as an exceptional player.
He believes the Newcastle loanee can grow by staying with Southampton and stressed that Fraser has Premier League quality.
Tessem is of the opinion that the Saints must sign Fraser for next season, no matter what happens.
“He is an exceptional football player, quick, and finds his position very good in there, causing problems”, Tessem said on BBC Radio Solent.
“And he has the one thing that you have to have as a winger, he has loads of pace, he is still going, still hungry, been out for a long time and I think he can actually grow a little bit by being here.
“For him, getting back to the Premier League with Southampton and getting a new life into him would be absolutely fantastic because he has Premier League quality, and when he gets up to his best, it is pretty close.
“I think he has more to give and I think we need to get him signed for next season, whatever happens.”
Fraser has a contract with Newcastle that expires at the end of June 2025 and it remains to be seen whether Southampton will try to sign the winger in the upcoming summer.
