There is a familiar feeling to the news that Zach Awe could be allowed to leave Southampton permanently in January.
Familiar because it speaks to a club that still, at times, seems unsure which young players are worth patience and which are deemed surplus before they have really had a chance.
Awe is 21. A former England youth international. Comfortable at League Two level, as his loan spell at Accrington Stanley showed before injury cruelly intervened.
He is not an untested academy hopeful; he is a defender who has played men’s football, started games, and handled responsibility. That alone should give Saints pause for thought before waving him through the exit.
It might be time to cash in on two Saints underperformers instead
Yes, he has not featured under Will Still or Tonda Eckert. Yes, minutes are hard to come by in a bloated squad. But the idea that Awe has “no Southampton future” feels premature, especially when you look at the players currently ahead of him.
Jack Stephens and Nathan Wood have both struggled badly this season. Confidence is low, performances have dipped, and neither looks like a long-term solution in a side trying to reset its defensive identity.
If Saints are going to sell centre-backs, why is the conversation starting with Awe rather than those whose ceilings are already well defined?
Stephens and Wood have resale value now. Awe’s value, by contrast, is theoretical and growing. Selling potential at this stage is rarely good business, particularly for a club that has historically thrived on developing young defenders and moving them on at the right time.
Where the Southampton squad needs trimming is crystal clear
There is, of course, a counter-argument. Southampton’s squad is too big. Sales are needed. The pathway is congested. All of that is true. But smart trimming is not the same as easy trimming.
Letting Awe go permanently to Walsall or Salford may tidy the wage bill, but it risks repeating an old mistake: clearing out promise because it is inconvenient.
Awe’s Achilles injury was a setback, not a verdict. Centre-backs often mature later, and Saints of all clubs should understand the value of patience in that position. Keeping him, even as depth or a future loan asset, feels more aligned with the club’s stated identity than cashing in now.
Southampton cannot afford to become a club that sells potential cheaply while clinging to experience that is no longer delivering. If January is about tough decisions, then perhaps the braver one is keeping Zach Awe and asking harder questions of those who have already had their chances.