Southampton 2018/19 Season Player Review: Alex McCarthy

The 2018/19 campaign ultimately proved a disappointing one for the Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

Whilst he retained his place as the club’s number one until February and received his first senior cap for England, he would ultimately lose out in the fight for a starting role to Angus Gunn.

The 29-year-old was crucial in Saints’ battle to survival in 2017/18 and rightly kept his place under Mark Hughes.

However, the signing of Gunn from Manchester City for around £10m was a significant signal of intent by the Saints board to try and add quality competition behind McCarthy.

Fraser Forster had dropped out of contention completely following a spell of poor form and it was therefore vital that backup was still there to be called upon.

McCarthy played the full 90 minutes in every Premier League game until January when Saints travelled to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea.

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Gunn was brought in and impressed on his top-flight debut but would make way for his fellow keeper 10 days later against Leicester City.

Overall though, it must be said that it appeared that something was just missing from McCarthy’s game.

It seemed that he had become rather more hesitant and wasn’t dominating his area, whilst some of the goals he conceded saw his positioning questioned.

He kept his place for five further matches but dropped to the bench permanently for the final three months of the campaign (apart from the last five games after suffering an injury).

McCarthy dropped out of the side for a relatively short spell of the season and he can perhaps be thankful for that.

He saw Angus Gunn perform well and play a part in some crucial results, but it will be all to play for again once the players return for pre-season.

Saints were linked recently with a move for promising Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski and, should that link prove true, McCarthy may find himself well down the pecking order.

Alex McCarthy’s key Premier League stats:

Appearances: 25

Clean Sheets: 4

Goals Conceded: 44

Saves: 78

Punches: 17

High Claims: 15