Is Hoedt actually quality enough?
Again, pre-season games have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but Wesley Hoedt has done nothing to repair the damage done to his reputation towards the end of last season.
After a solid start to the campaign, Hoedt struggled for consistency over the course of the year, leading to his occasional dropping under Mauricio Pellegrino.
Today the Dutchman was at fault for one of the Rams’ second-half goals and was generally poor throughout, despite the fact that exactly a week ago many Southampton fans were dead against the idea of moving Hoedt on.
Off the back of our most recent article, do you think the club should sell Wesley Hoedt if they bring in Marlon Santos AND plan on playing Bertrand as the LCB? 🤔#SaintsFC 🔴⚪️
— Saints Marching (@SaintsMarching_) July 14, 2018
Naturally, with Ryan Bertrand having started both pre-season friendlies as a left-sided centre-half, the Saints can then easily play Vestergaard in the middle and any of Yoshida, Stephens or Bednarek on the right side.
Nonetheless, Hoedt’s performances in both a three and a four-man defence are generally concerning, and Mark Hughes will need to address this over the next three friendlies before the season begins.