UEFA Nations League star can address Southampton's midfield shortcomings

Southampton have one of the biggest squads among the Premier League teams and thus, have a lot of options in attack, midfield as well as defence. While manager Russell Martin seems to figure out his best players in attack and defence in the recent matches, the Premier League promotion winning manager is yet to find a great midfield combination. However, one Southampton youth star possesses the ability to reduce Southampton's shortcomings in defending as well as driving the ball forward from the middle of the park.

The player is 24-year-old defensive midfielder Will Smallbone, who came through the youth ranks at Southampton and spent a season at Stoke City on a loan move before returning to the first team. Smallbone is a deep-lying playmaker who is tenacious in his tackling and ball winning ability, and is decent with his passing as well. Last month, Smallbone made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in a 2-0 defeat against England and followed it with a Man of the Match winning performance against Greece.

UEFA Nations League star can address Southampton's midfield shortcomings

Although Greece won the match 2-0, Smallbone was a reliable presence in the Republic of Ireland midfield signifying his versatility in both box-to-box midfielder as well as a double pivot role. However, the 24-year-old promising midfielder picked up a hamstring injury in that match, and has been sidelined from both club and country since then. Against Manchester United and Bournemouth, Southampton missed Smallbone's defensive presence in the midfield as they conceded three goals in both of those matches.

Martin started Lesley Ugochukwu in Smallbone's position against Bournemouth but the on-loan Chelsea star often made mistimed tackles and gave away possession several times throughout the match. Further, Martin even played Flynn Downes and Adam Lallana as double pivots against Arsenal, however a misplaced pass from captain Flynn Downes started Arsenal's comeback in the 3-1 away defeat. Hence, defensive midfield is becoming an issue for Southampton who want Smallbone to quickly recover from his injury to provide more composure and balance to Russell Martin's side at the base of the midfield.