Jay Robinson is 'one of the biggest prospects' for Saints, says Eckert

Monza lost 4-1 to Napoli on Wednesday night, and the one good moment for the home side came from Jay Robinson.

He stood up a cross from the left in the 43rd minute and Gustavo Varela headed in from close range to make it 1-1. Napoli went on to score through Rasmus Hojlund, Matteo Politano, Rafa Marin and Kevin De Bruyne.

Monza had won their previous two home league games, against Sassuolo and Cagliari, so the defeat ended a good run at the Brianteo. Robinson's cross was the highlight of a night that otherwise went the visitors' way.

Not bad against De Bruyne.

What Eckert said about Robinson

Tonda Eckert spoke about the winger this week, and @SaintsExtra posted his answer. Southampton have an option in January to make a decision, he said, and Johannes Spors has been over to watch Robinson at Monza.

He called Robinson one of the biggest prospects the club has. What the decision is, he did not spell out. It's probably as simple as whether to recall the player, or not.

That's certainly The Daily Echo's opinion, and it also ran a story mentioning a possible recall.

Robinson's season at Monza

Robinson joined Monza on a season-long loan in August after recurring injuries had cost him minutes at Southampton. Saints Marching reported at the time that the Daily Echo said there was no buy option.

His Serie A debut was a short substitute appearance against Inter. He then started a Coppa Italia win over Torino and, as Saints Marching noted, completed four successful dribbles in 73 minutes and hit the crossbar. He has also scored in a 1-1 draw at Parma.

That is a lot of football at a high level for a winger who was in and out of the Southampton side. It is also the point of the loan.

Minutes.

Look at what he would come back to. Saints Marching listed Léo Scienza and Lewis Dobbin ahead of him on the wings in August, with Samuel Edozie and Tom Fellows also in the picture, and Eckert has built a squad of only 25.

Is the January decision really about recall? It could be a different question, such as whether to extend his stay or plan for next summer.

The best reading is that Monza is the better place for him until May. A winger getting Serie A minutes and creating goals against Napoli has little to gain from warming the bench in the Championship bench in January.

If injuries hit Southampton's wide men, that changes. Until then Eckert can afford to wait, and the option he mentioned is not a deadline.

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