Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to pinpoint a major factor in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Brentford.
The St Mary’s faithful have been bemoaning the lack of a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg replacement, a gaping hole that has been evident in the Saints’ first two games this term.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men have yet to score a goal this season. They lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace on the Premier League’s opening day, before Wednesday’s 2-0 shock defeat at home to Championship club Brentford.
It isn’t ground-breaking news the club needs to replace their former captain and ever-present defensive midfielder.
According to the Premier League, Hojbjerg recovered possession for Southampton 10.64 times per 90 minutes in 2019/20 – more than any other midfielder in the division.
Despite the fact he was stripped of the captaincy after expressing a desire to leave, he was still a hugely influential cog for the Saints until the day he departed.
You can’t leave a gap like that unfilled.
The former Bayern Munich man made 33 appearances for Southampton last season, and needs to be replaced.
That area of the field has been weakened further after Mario Lemina and Harrison Reed also left, so the Saints need to get active in the midfield market.
Here’s what some Southampton fans have been saying on Twitter…
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