Enzo Robise has been backed to force his way into Southampton’s first-team plans with the teenager’s agent claiming that he is tailor-made for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s philosophy, speaking to Get France Football News.
In the Austrian coach, The Saints have a boss famed for his willingness to give youth a chance.
Academy graduates Will Smallbone, Michael Obafemi and Michael Vokins have all featured for the Saints in recent months while Timo Werner, Naby Keita and more made huge strides under Hasenhuttl at RB Leipzig.
But, with just 12 months remaining on his contract, it remans to be seen whether Robise will be handed the chance to follow in their footsteps.
A winger who moved to St Mary’s from Reims two years ago, Robise is yet to make his first-team debut in Southampton colours while an ill-timed injury means he has been restricted to just five Premier League 2 appearances this season.
According to Badou Sambague, however, there is still a future for the youngster on the South Coast.
“He is under contract until 2021, so a loan (away from the Saints) would not be possible. But he has all the qualities to play in English football and, when Southampton signed him from Reims, it was to give him the opportunity to eventually play in one of the biggest leagues in the world,” the agent explains.
“They have a philosophy that suits him well, with players who break the lines. He already trained a lot with (the first team).
“He had quite a considerable injury this season, for which he needed to undergo surgery in Lyon, which went very well indeed. He came back well and he is back in the French youth team, he is someone who is very closely tracked by the FFF (French Football Federation).”
With Southampton very close to securing their Premier League status for another season, sitting seven points above the relegation zone, Hasenhuttl may be tempted to hand Robise a chance to prove himself in the final few games of the season.
He will become a free agent in 2021 as it stands. So the next 12 months or so have a real ‘make or break’ feel about them.
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