Southampton 2017/18 season review: Nathan Redmond

After an impressive albeit inconsistent 2016/17 campaign, Southampton fans were keen for Nathan Redmond to push on this year but he has sadly fallen short of expectations.

Outside of Oriol Romeu, Nathan Redmond was arguably the only other player to enjoy a really decent season under Claude Puel. Granted, Jack Stephens got his breakthrough into the first team and Charlie Austin started positively, but besides the Saints’ Player of the Season, Redmond was the only one who really shone.

However this time around the Englishman found the back of the net just once, with it taking him until his 29th league appearance of the season to open his account.

Granted, under Mark Hughes the 24-year-old enjoyed a strong end to the campaign, with his header against Everton being just rewards for a string of solid cameo appearances under the Welshman.

However that doesn’t excuse the pretty poor eight months that proceeded Hughes’ appointment, where he struggled to remain in the first team under former boss Mauricio Pellegrino.

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It’s easy to excuse Redmond’s sub-par performances thanks to the Argentine, who proved his lack of tactical know-how during his short stay on the south coast. Over his 30 or so games in charge, it was clear Pellegrino didn’t know his first XI or how to get the best out of each player.

After the 5-2 thumping on Boxing Day against Spurs, Redmond didn’t start another league game for nearly two months, making cameo appearances of as little as seven minutes before eventually getting the nod again in the FA Cup.

It remains unclear how Mark Hughes approached the young winger after taking charge, but from an outsider’s perspective Redmond seems like the kind of player who would need an arm round him – to be encouraged rather than shouted at. Whether this is true or way off the mark we may never know, but the Welshman definitely approached him better than his predecessor did.

What is certain is that Redmond’s season is still inexcusable. Irregardless of his end-of-season form, he has been a shadow of his former self this time around.

In his first campaign for the Saints, he was direct and dynamic whereas this time around he seemed much more indecisive and often overworked chances that came his way.

However, unlike fellow winger Sofiane Boufal, Redmond has seemed to remain professional with his head down. His Moroccan teammate famously fell out with Mark Hughes whilst also not enjoying the smoothest run under Pellegrino either.

As a result it seems fair for Redmond to stay this summer – he’s still young and could yet work his way back to the England senior side.

However this next campaign will be a big test of his resolve as a footballer – he’ll need to hit the ground running and get himself directly involved in a lot more goals than he has this year. It’ll be a big test of his character.

Verdict

Nathan Redmond: 5.5/10