Simon Rusk hints at utilising young players like new debutant Joachim Kayi Sanda against Arsenal in the wake of Jan Bednarek's unforeseen injury.
Ahead of the final Goodison trip, Southampton were sweating on the fitness of their x-factor, Kyle Walker-Peters. And the fears eventually proved true, as the Saints fell paltry to their party spoiling claims against Everton, losing 0-2 to the hosts.
But, let's be real, this result wasn't completely unforeseen when the lineup sheets came in. After all, with their rock-solid centre-back, Jan Bednarek, missing, the Saints were bound to ship in early goals.
Hence, after this not-so-Rusk-like performance, the focus must turn to the final Arsenal game, not to concede a humiliation there.
Optimistically, still, in this leaky defence show, Southampton had a crucial positive to help in the upcoming St. Mary's game. It was prodigy Joachim Kayi Sanda's first team debut.
Kayi Sanda can be handed Jan Bednarek's role against Arsenal
The 18-year-old newcomer has consistently featured for the youth academy, and his ten-minute Everton cameo added some sort of reliability to Southampton's injury-hit defence.
Thus, could Kayi Sanda be tasked with filling Bednarek's boots in the short term? With only the Arsenal game to prepare for, Simon Rusk's hint suggests that the Frenchman's option is in the back of his mind.
As quoted by the Daily Echo, Rusk stressed this idea while addressing Bednarek's fitness concerns: "We've got the young players pushing on that need that exposure for the next bit of their development."
Now, Kayi Sanda's presence isn't going to guarantee a clean sheet against Arsenal, but it can serve two crucial purposes. Firstly, the defender will get his first taste of a Big Six challenge, which will do the world of good to his morale.
Last but not the least, testing young talents in that meaningless fixture can sort out some of Southampton's squad decisions for the pre-season. Ultimately, let's see whether there will be more debuts in the final Premier League matchday.