Southampton: Dusan Tadic needs to be dropped against Burnley

In short, the Serbian hasn’t performed well enough to warrant a starting spot – his stats against Brighton were below par.

The attacking-midfielder has been involved in the majority of Southampton’s games this season, much to the dismay of the supporters.

Tadic’s only direct goal-involvement so far this season comes courtesy of his unconvincing penalty against West Ham – he’s yet to register an assist in all competitions.

And against Brighton it was more of the same for the 83 minutes he was on the pitch – his passing accuracy was below 70 percent, which is grossly poor.

Of his 26 passes, none were deemed ‘key, splitting passes’ by WhoScored, suggesting that the Serbian failed to create anything from a near-full 90 minutes on the pitch.

It has to be said, Tadic is definitely one of the most technically-gifted players in the Southampton squad, and it shows. Without much competition he knows he’s likely to be selected week in, week out. This has definitely had an adverse affect on his attitude.

Fraser Forster showed significant – albeit temporary – improvements to his form following his dropping from the England squad, and Tadic could do with a similar learning curve.

So far the 28-year-old has started every game except for the Watford encounter, but he was subbed on at half time anyway. Nonetheless, the Hornets were perhaps the most impressive side the Saints have faced this season.

Next: Brighton 1-1: Three key players

Against Burnley, Mauricio Pellegrino needs to drop the playmaker. James Ward-Prowse and Sofiane Boufal were both much more creative against Brighton this past weekend and can both be deployed in similar positions to where Tadic can play – they deserve the chance over the Serbian.

Pellegrino will likely field the former-Twente man whilst Mario Lemina remains sidelined with an ankle injury, but he really doesn’t warrant the start. Even one of Southampton’s impressive young players deserves the opportunity against Burnley.