da brwin： Southampton don’t have many central midfielders at the club right now.
da betsul： Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and James Ward-Prowse are Ralph Hasenhuttl’s undisputed first-choice duo in the middle of the park, having made 23 and 25 Premier League starts respectively this season – however, behind those two, the Saints aren’t blessed with a wealth of options.
Hasenhuttl also has Oriol Romeu at his disposal, although behind the Spaniard, only Will Smallbone could be considered as an option to come in and perform at centre-midfield if any of the aforementioned trio were unavailable for whatever reason.
In that respect, perhaps that is why Southampton have been linked with a move for Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham.
The Frenchman – who was described as “a bit moody sometimes” and also a “little bit inconsistent” by his manager Neil Lennon – is believed to be in the Saints’ sights ahead of a summer move, with The Sun believing that Ntcham would jump at the chance to move to St Mary’s.
However, while Southampton don’t have a wealth of options in midfield, the 18-cap France U21 international’s potential arrival could be a hindrance to Smallbone’s chances of gaining more regular first-team action.
The 19-year-old – who started and scored in the 2-0 FA Cup win over Huddersfield earlier this season – made the bench for Southampton’s last Premier League game against Liverpool, although that FA Cup outing was his one and only appearance for the first-team. He did, however, shine on that occasion.
After that 2-0 win, Hasenhuttl praised the teenager, saying that he “is one of the best players we have in the youth” and he also “showed that on the ball he has some really good moves and quality” – the former RB Leipzig boss also said that he hopes Smallbone and Jake Vokins “make a good development”.
What could’ve been… Can you name the clubs these football legends almost joined?
Significantly, one presumes that Smallbone will not “make a good development” if Ntcham arrives, as he is already struggling for game time at St Mary’s anyway even though Hasenhuttl has only three first-team central midfielders.
If the Celtic man arrived on the south coast, we fear for the Ireland U19 international’s development.
In other news, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg may have dropped a hint regarding his future on Instagram…