Whilst it was certainly a season of two halves for Southampton overall in 2018/19, one player managed to keep consistency right through from August until May.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg picked up the captain’s armband at St Mary’s when Ryan Bertrand dropped out of the side through injury and seemed to thrive in the role after Christmas.
The 23-year-old started the campaign in decent fashion under Mark Hughes with two goals and an assist in three games against Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Brighton.
However, he was often the man shoved out in front of the cameras to give passionate responses after some poor results.
He did let himself down on one occasion too with a clear dive that got him sent off for two bookable offences versus Leicester.
But contributions such as his match-winner at Brighton more than made up for that and it was his leadership that fully came to the fore as Saints secured survival with two matches remaining.
33 starts in all competitions yielded a respectable total of four goals and four assists from a central-midfield position, but it was other aspects of his performances that went to another level under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
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Often playing in a midfield two with Oriol Romeu, the energy that he showed in the new high-pressing style that the Austrian implemented was key to many of the positive results gained after December.
Hasenhuttl will have been familiar with Hojbjerg’s style and strengths from his time in Germany and his ability to win the ball back high up the pitch is highlighted by his impressive stats all round.
In a Saints fans forum back in January, Hasenhuttl revealed that he knew his captain was gaining interest from some of Europe’s top clubs for his all-round play.
The modern game is fast paced and Hojbjerg’s endless running is sure to make him a target for some clubs in the future, but Saints will be determined to hang onto such as talent.
Hojbjerg’s key PL stats (according to whoscored.com):
Appearances: 31
Passes: 1793
Key Passes: 28
Successful Tackles: 71
Interceptions: 60
Shots: 53
Successful Dribbles: 23