Following impressive performances from several players during Southampton’s 3-0 hammering of Sparta Prague, Claude Puel is faced with a serious selection headache.
Claude Puel notched his first win as Southampton manager on Thursday night as his side cruised through their opening Europa League group stage game by a 3-0 scoreline.
The Saints recorded two defeats and two draws in their first four Premier League fixtures as Puel was rudely introduced to the rigour of the English top flight. In that time, it has been clear that the Frenchman is still working out exactly what his best starting line-up is, having named a different team in each of the five games he has overseen.
And while much of the change before the game against Sparta Prague was likely out of a desire to rest and rotate his squad, the convincing nature of the victory has possibly given Puel an even greater selection headache than he had before.
The only truly settled positions in the team appear to be at goalkeeper and centre-back, where Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk, and club captain Jose Fonte virtually pick themselves. The places of Dusan Tadic, Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis, and Nathan Redmond also appear to be secure, the former two having started every game while the latter two have started in all four league fixtures.
That leaves four spots in the team still up for grabs – one in attack, one in midfield, and both full-back positions. That number could rise if one of the aforementioned seven players were to cede their place.
Cedric Soares would be disappointed not to have made the list of secure players, having started every league fixture and played reasonably well. However, such was the performance of Cuco Martina that surely he has put himself in the running for a start against Swansea, throwing the right-back position up in the air. He was a constant menace down the right flank, and his outside-of-the-boot cross for Charlie Austin’s second goal was sensational.
On the other side of defence, while Matt Targett appears to have edged in ahead of Ryan Bertrand, the latter is the more experienced of the two, and will continue to push his fellow Englishman for the left-back spot.
In central midfield, there is one spot available alongside Davis and Romeu, and has so far been filled by James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and Jordy Clasie. There is little indication as to who is ahead between those three, although Clasie has been used the most sparingly.
But it is in attack where the headache begins to border on becoming a migraine for manger Puel. Tadic’s influence has been obvious, but Redmond has petered out somewhat after scoring on his debut in the 1-1 draw with Watford. He has been used as a striker in a two-man partnership by his manager, but after a fast start it doesn’t seem as though the position is for him.
And all the while Shane Long, Jay Rodriguez, and Charlie Austin have been battling for a solitary spot alongside him, not to mention club-record signing Sofiane Boufal, who hasn’t seen any game time yet due to a lack of match fitness.
Jay Rodriguez has come off the bench to score twice while he works his way back to fitness, while Charlie Austin put in a magnificent showing on Thursday, scoring a brace.
All this makes for quite the dilemma, but then, who ever said a manager’s job was easy?
Having cited how hard Puel’s task is, it feels only right that this author should produce a suggested line-up ahead of the Saints’ clash with Swansea, so here it is:
Suggested XI (4-3-3): Forster; Targett, van Dijk, Fonte, Martina; Hojbjerg, Romeu, Davis; Rodriguez, Austin, Tadic
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