With the majority of the season gone and plenty of time to analyse the players in his squad, Southampton manager Claude Puel could have some important decisions to make this summer.
The Frenchman needed a large pool of players to pick from this term because of the Saints’ progression to the final of the EFL Cup, as well as their participation in the Europa League group stages.
However, with qualification for next season’s competition looking unlikely after a largely underwhelming Premier League campaign, he may be unable to keep some players as happy as he has this term.
While fringe men such as Lloyd Isgrove, Florin Gardos and Cuco Martina could all depart St Mary’s Stadium at the end of the campaign, there is also every chance that there could be some surprise names shown the door too, in search of a new start or regular first team football.
Without further ado, here are THREE Southampton players that could make a shock exit from St Mary’s this summer…
Fraser Forster
While it may come as a surprise to followers of other clubs, Forster is slowly but surely losing the faith of Southampton supporters because of some of his performances this season.
The England international has almost single-handedly helped the club to points before – think Arsenal away last season – but it has been a different story this term and his confidence appears to have been shattered.
Showing uncertainty when balls come into the box and less agility, Saints boss Claude Puel could already be looking for a new goalkeeper – Mouez Hassen already joined from Nice in January – and it would be a decision that wouldn’t upset too many fans on current form.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
When Southampton signed the Denmark international from Bayern Munich last summer, fans would have been excited at the prospect of watching the 21-year-old play.
Hojbjerg certainly made a bright start to his Saints career with some accomplished performances on the ball, but it is form that has slowly dwindled throughout the campaign.
Because of how well he speaks and his stature on the pitch, the frustrated supporters will sometimes forget that the midfielder is, in fact, younger than the likes of Jack Stephens, Sam McQueen and Jack Stephens, and perhaps needs more time to adapt to the English game.
However, the Dane was an unused substitute for the EFL Cup Final and left out of the squad altogether for the win against Watford in the Premier League last weekend, possibly putting his future under Claude Puel into doubt.
Charlie Austin
The former QPR striker was the Saints’ main man up top earlier in the campaign, and they often relied on Austin to score their goals.
The 27-year-old scored nine goals in all competitions before picking up a shoulder injury in the Europa League draw against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in December.
With Claude Puel now looking to have found his preferred formation and Manolo Gabbiadini surely cementing his spot in attack following the sensational start to his career in England, Austin might find it hard to fight his way back into the side.
You get the feeling that Gabbiadini is the style of forward that Puel has been looking for, and while he is a goalscorer, Austin’s lack of agility and pace could mean that he is surplus to requirements in the summer.