It’s widely accepted that this week Southampton’s Mark Hughes will enter discussions with the club about extending his contract on the south coast.
The Welshman was initially only hired until the end of the season with a reported seven-figure bonus heading his way if he kept the Saints in the Premier League. The experienced manager did just that, clawing Southampton back from five points adrift to finish three clear of the drop zone.
As a result fans are calling for the ex-Stoke City boss to be given a deal for the next couple of seasons, as he is clearly a favourite among the players with the fans also able to see the passion and drive he has injected into the squad in such a short space of time.
Therefore on the base of it, Hughes seems like the perfect appointment. Whilst he also was once manager of a recently-backed Manchester City, Southampton are very much at Hughes’ level. Unlike Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman, there’s not much chance of the 54-year-old being snapped by a big-six club – this is a good thing.
However, what can’t be ignored is how poor Stoke’s transfer policy has been over the past two or three seasons. Now naturally the signings may of been made by the board without much intervention from the Welshman, but it still raises some alarm bells.
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During Hughes’ tenure with the Potters, they signed a host of high-profile players from bigger clubs – players with big egos who on the most part, failed to deliver for the Welshman.
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Jese Rodriguez – once of Real Madrid – has been frozen out for two months due to reported attitude problems this season, whilst Xherdan Shaqiri has been inconsistent to say the least. Other signings include Marc Muniesa who has spent this season out on loan, and Marco Arnautovic who was incredibly hit and miss under Hughes before eventually joining West Ham.
It remains unclear how much influence the 54-year-old had over these transfers – he may of told the board he simply wanted creative players as they attempted to reboot the roster into a more dynamic one after Tony Pulis’ departure. He might of had no influence at all, or he may of told those above him exactly who he wanted them to sign.
Whatever it was, a lot of Hughes’ transfers during his five-year stay at the Bet365 Stadium were hit and miss to say the least – Stoke’s record signing Giannelli Imbula has spent the last season on loan in his native France.
On a personal note I’m all for Hughes getting the job on the long term – the way he has rallied the players is brilliant and if the deadwood is trimmed from the squad we could easily challenge for a top-half finish again.
However we would need to avoid these big-name players with big egos – some of the club’s most successful signings of the past decade have been lesser-known talents and the team need to stick to that blueprint, Hughes or not.