Will Smallbone is not an oven ready replacement for Stuart Armstrong
From the glimpses seen towards the tail end of last season, there is no doubting that Smallbone has significant potential. That said, after being parachuted in to replace the injured Stuart Armstrong at Selhurst Park, Smallbone looked lost and uncertain throughout the game. The 20-year-old struggled to replicate the bustling energy and ingenuity of his absent Scottish teammate and his showing did little convince that Smallbone’s future is anywhere but the centre of the park.
In fairness, the latest product of the famed academy conveyor belt showed a couple of nice touches but ended up too narrow and failed to offer Kyle Walker-Peters sufficient support defensively. Unfortunately, that left Saints exposed on the occasions Walker Peters bombed on to provide some much-needed width.
The best example of this was when Southampton were caught in possession with the Southampton right back stranded high up the pitch. With no cover from Smallbone or the central midfield duo, Townsend and Zaha combined effectively to punish some slack defending. It is evident Hasenhuttl rates Smallbone and whilst his performance was underwhelming, it will be interesting to see whether he plays in a more familiar central position in future games.