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Mauricio Pellegrino makes tough call leaving out key Southampton players

ByChristian Bird|
GOLDACH, SWITZERLAND - JULY 15: Manager Mauricio Pellegrino from FC Southampton during the pre-season friendly match between FC Southampton and St. Gallen at Sportanlage Kellen on July 15, 2017 in Goldach, Switzerland. (Photo by Simon Hausberger/Getty Images)
GOLDACH, SWITZERLAND - JULY 15: Manager Mauricio Pellegrino from FC Southampton during the pre-season friendly match between FC Southampton and St. Gallen at Sportanlage Kellen on July 15, 2017 in Goldach, Switzerland. (Photo by Simon Hausberger/Getty Images)

With the futures of Cédric Soares and Virgil van Dijk remaining uncertain, Saints are slightly under the cosh.

However, there is competition for places elsewhere at Southampton Football Club, as both Shane Long and Charlie Austin both sat on the bench against West Ham on Saturday, and there was even no place for James Ward-Prowse during the mid-afternoon kick-off, with the manager preferring Redmond for his pace and overall performance.

The Italian centre-forward Manolo Gabbiadini scored a well-placed left-foot shot past West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart as his side went one up, which followed up with a Tadic penalty after Marco Arnautovic had been sent off for a shocking raised elbow into the face of Jack Stephens.

He himself is an exciting prospect for Southampton, still only 23, but I expect Liverpool have their eyes on him already.

Then, Charlie Austin fired home to rescue Southampton from dropping points for a second fixture on the trot. Could Mauricio play two at the top and would it be more effective? (Rhetorical question.)

It would mean players like Ward-Prowse would be pushed even further down the rankings, after the new-arrival Mario Lemina already stealing a place in the starting midfield for Southampton.

However, what is promising is that the manager seems to like rotating his players, although it is early days and he is still getting to know his team better. JWP started the first  Premier League fixture of the season against Swansea City, which ended as a stalemate.

Swansea registered no shots on target with just two in total, while Saints offered much more going forward and were unfortunate not to score from their 29 attempts on goal.

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Sofiane Boufal replaced Ward-Prowse in the second half, but still chances deserted them. In light of this, both players were left out of the starting-XI this weekend against West Ham, by favour of his new signing.

Saints perhaps surprisingly were lacklustre defensively however, a problem that could become even worse with potential moves for Virgil van Dijk and Cédric Soares imminent.

Pellegrino’s squad is stronger to his credit, and it will be competition for places in defence if the outcome is what most Saint’s fans dread, that van Dijk goes to Liverpool to join up with his former teammates. Jan Bednarek, who has recently set foot in the club, could be called up to the starting 11 sooner than expected, or young talent Matt Targett could be targeted instead by the impressing manager. Wesley Hoedt will also be a part of their plans when he joins up.

Southampton started the day and finished it with no injuries and a full squad, despite Arnautovic’s heavy elbow. Four points in two games will be pleasing for supporters, however it was by no way of conviction that they squeezed past the Hammers late on. However, having a fully-fit squad is something to feel cheery about.