Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn started the 2019/20 season as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first-choice goalkeeper and looked to be well ahead of his competitors.
The 24-year-old had taken Alex McCarthy’s place at the end of the previous campaign and looked set to hold the number 1 jersey for the majority of this year.
Gunn started the first 10 of Saints’ Premier League fixtures, but it’s fair to say that they didn’t go how he or his teammates would have wanted.
Two wins, two draws and six defeats meant that eight points were claimed from a possible 30 and Saints were plunged into trouble at the wrong end of the table.
As for many of the squad, the last of these games – the dreaded 9-0 loss to Leicester – proved to be the end of Gunn’s run in the team.
A number of players looked to be in a state of shock during the 90 minutes that broke Saints’ club record for their worst ever defeat.
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Gunn’s performance was not the worst on the team at all but he was beaten by a mixture of superb finishing and hopeless defending in front of him.
As a young player making your first steps into top-flight football, this is far from ideal for your self-belief – especially if you are a goalkeeper.
For that reason, it was hardly a surprise to see him dropped to the bench to recover and make way for the more experienced head of Alex McCarthy, who went on to play up until the Coronavirus suspension in early March.
Three more appearances came for Gunn in the FA Cup as he played in the Third-Round win over Huddersfield Town and both Fourth-Round ties against Spurs, but it looks unlikely that he will reclaim a Premier League place again this season.
He remains talented player though and Saints did pull off something of a coup to bring him in from Manchester City last year – his shot-stopping is good and he still has plenty of time to develop before the peak of his career.
Refocusing in the summer before the 2020/21 campaign will enable him to get back on track, impress those around him and fight to get back his regular place between the sticks at St Mary’s.