Early Player Of The Season
Oriol Romeu has been nothing short of amazing through the first four matches of the Premier League season. He is an absolute force in the centre of the pitch, breaking up attacks and suiting Hasenhuttl’s pressing tactics to a tee.
Against United, he was many fans MOTM regardless of Vestergaard grabbing the game tieing goal. From the opening kickoff, he won a ball on the brink of the attacking third and pushed his team forward. In the final 10 minutes he was still throwing his body around leaving everything on the pitch. In the 4-2-2-2 his role is critical, picking the ball up between the two centre backs and covering for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who gets some freedom to run forward. The Spaniard has been an integral part of early season success and is arguably the hardest player to replace if an injury occurred.
Can you believe Mark Hughes did not play this guy? Romeu is just two plus years removed from his 2016-17 player of the year award and looks as fit as he has ever been. His early season performances are being noticed across the fan base, and even next to captain Hojbjerg. It is exciting to see this partnership flourishing because they are the cogs that make the Southampton machine go and will be the difference in the point total come season’s end.