Southampton: Redmond isn’t the finished product yet – but that’s what makes him so exciting

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s arrival at Southampton in December saw the beginning of an upturn for the club.

The Austrian led his players to safety with two Premier League games to spare after inheriting a disjointed side sitting perilously on nine points.

Whilst it was important to gel the individual components of the team back into a cohesive unit, getting the best out of the talent within the group would also prove vital.

This would apply most to Nathan Redmond, who had reached the midpoint of the campaign with just two assists to his name despite full commitment to the cause.

What he needed was some help, and this came when Hasenhuttl turned him from a stock winger into a dangerous attacking-midfielder.

The 25-year-old was often stuck out on the wing and forced to try and create on his own under previous managers, but now he could start to link well with others in attack whilst drifting across the frontline.

Just five months later, Redmond had finished the 2018/19 season by adding nine goals and four further assists as his new positioning paid dividends – and gave fans a glimpse at what is likely to come in a full campaign under Hasenhuttl from August.

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Both the Saints fans and Redmond’s own teammates voted him as Fans’ Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year respectively, and he was rewarded with a recall to the England setup by Gareth Southgate on Thursday after over two years away.

Yet, there could still be an extra level to his game that is yet to be seen.

Ten times more is coming off for him now when he tries to create and score, but that number could improve further still with a full pre-season learning in the current style.

This is in no way a criticism though. It’s merely something that Saints fans should be hugely excited by as they look forward to their club’s future.

The way in which Redmond has rebuilt his relationship with the supporters after a tough start to life on the South Coast is also testament to his work so far, but more fine-tuning from a manager that wants to help his individual talents rather than just get results is what he needs.

There were times in 2018/19 when Redmond was almost overly eager to influence games, leading to him rushing shots or not timing his passes quite right.

With Hasenhuttl and his squad now starting afresh without the worry of relegation looming over their work, even more freedom will be given to attacking players to work their magic.

Indeed, the flowing 4-2-2-2 system that the Saints boss wants to implement long-term could aid Redmond and get him linking with even more efficiency with his teammates.

Hasenhuttl speaks regularly about the talent that his main man has and will know exactly how to squeeze the optimum output from him during the next year.

The Saints squad needs more quality added to it this summer too and Redmond will continue to rise with the side into the future if he maintains the levels that he has shown since December.