The early-season form of Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt has been one of biggest talking points to come from the opening games.
Mistakes and inconsistent levels of performance from the Dutchman have led to some calls for him to be replaced in Mark Hughes’ Southampton line-ups.
It could well be that time away from the heat of battle could help Hoedt, who seems stuck and cannot seem to haul himself away from constant debate about his performances.
A similar situation occurred with Nathan Redmond. Stuck in a rut last season, he has come out the other side and become a key attacking threat for Saints.
With Hoedt perhaps needing a break on the sidelines, who should be the man to come in a replace him.
More from Saints Marching
- Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
- Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
- It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
- Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
- A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse
The main candidate would be Maya Yoshida. The Japanese international has been unlucky to see little game-time so far in 2018/19 after some strong and commanding displays during the team’s relegation battle last season.
He perhaps doesn’t possess the same passing range as Hoedt, but defensive solidity can only come when a team has their best defenders on the pitch.
Jack Stephens would also be a strong option. Like Yoshida, he has seen little time on the pitch this campaign and could consider himself unlucky after a solid opening day clean sheet against Burnley.
He has been left out of the last three matchday squads though and it seems that he is well down the pecking order in the Centre-Back department at this moment in time.
Jan Bednarek broke into the Saints side at the end of last season and put in some good showings when deployed in the side’s three-man defence.
Whether he will be able to operate successfully with just one other player alongside him is another question however. Both he and Jannik Vestergaard don’t possess the greatest amount of pace and could well be exposed because of that.
With all of this in mind, Maya Yoshida could be the players to step into the side if Mark Hughes chooses to make a change. It would certainly benefit Saints’ results in the short-term and the ability of Wesley Hoedt to return to form in the long-term.