Yesterday speculation arose suggesting that Southampton would be loaning out their dutch midfielder Jordy Clasie, which came to fruition in the afternoon.
This came after news the week before that they had made him available for transfer – but he instead has not left permanently.
The deal with the Belgian side will last until next summer, at which point it’s unclear whether he will be sold or whether he will re-join the Southampton ranks. After all, he’s still under contract until 2020.
Clasie never really made his mark at Southampton, having never become a first-team regular under the three managers that have been at the helm with him on the Saints’ books. That includes Mauricio Pellegrino, who has not even named the 26-year-old on the bench yet from his four games in charge.
Instead, injuries and a general lack of form have seen the former-Feyenoord man make just 38 league appearances in two seasons, scoring just the once, against West Brom in April. But did the midfielder not get a fair crack of the whip?
Next: Are Jordy Clasie's Southampton days numbered?
Just feel he wasn't given much of a chance, when he played he rarely made any mistakes, he done the dirty work well, shame really
— 𝔸𝕤𝕙 (@THE_SA1NTS) August 30, 2017
We asked our followers for their views following Clasie’s departure, which was seemingly a certainty after the record signing of Mario Lemina earlier this month.
The general consensus what that the midfielder wasn’t given a fair chance with the Saints, with more than one fan expressing disappointment that he never showed his full potential in red and white.
As pointed out, none of Clasie’s performances were really lackluster, and he didn’t put a foot wrong in the majority of his games. However with just two goals to his name he never really made a difference or provided the same spark that Oriol Romeu and Steven Davis do.
Playing as a defensive-midfielder in the ultra-competitive Premier League, supporters also argued that his physicality – or lack of – proved detrimental to his overall performance.
Clasie stands at just five-foot-seven, but unlike other midfielders that size such as N’Golo Kante, the 26-year-old lacked great strength or pace. This wasn’t a glaring issue in the Eredivisie or perhaps in the Belgian Pro League, but in the Premier League it affected his ability to bully other midfielders and left him vulnerable.
What is certain is that it’s disappointing to see Clasie fail to make his mark. I personally was a fan of his when he joined under Ronald Koeman but even the most sentimental of fans can see that he even when he returns he’s unlikely to make the starting XI.
He’ll be 27 by the time he returns from Belgium too, thus entering the prime of his career and suggesting there isn’t much more room for him to grow as a footballer either.