SOUTHAMPTON winger Moi Elyounoussi admits it was always his dream to return to the Premier League outfit and fight for a place in the starting XI.

The Norwegian spent the previous two seasons on loan at Celtic and the 27-year-old generally fared well, scoring 24 times and providing 14 assists in 67 games for the Parkhead club.

Some supporters were keen to see the Hoops push the boat out and make Elyounoussi a permanent signing this summer as Ange Postecoglou fine-tuned his squad for the new campaign - but Elyounoussi has revealed he always harboured ambitions of getting back into Ralph Hasenhuttl's starting line-up.

"I have to be honest, that was my dream, to come back and to prove everyone wrong," Elyounoussi told the Daily Echo.

"But at the same time, I had other offers. I had other opportunities to go and play week in, week out.

"That was also in my mind if it doesn’t work. But after the two first games when I sat on the bench, I felt determined to come back, as soon as I get the opportunity I will show him [Hasenhuttl] that I deserve to play.

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"So I’m really happy that he put the trust in me and that I can pay him back for that."

Elyounoussi added that while his initial spell at St Mary's was underwhelming, he hopes that a change in approach from his manager will bring the best out of him.

"There were a lot of different reasons why it didn’t work first time," Elyounoussi recalled.

"So I just want to show why the club brought me in in the first place.

"It’s still early days, I’m going to keep working hard, keep getting better and try to help the team as much as I can."