Could struggling Forster find himself dropped by Southampton?

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Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster hasn’t been able to hit the heights of previous seasons.

Fraser Forster has largely escaped criticism despite a poor season

Fraser Forster earned a lot of praise for his performances during his first two seasons at Southampton, and rightly so.

He was reliable and a marked upgrade on the man he replaced, Artur Boruc, and Maarten Stekelenburg, who deputised while he was injured.

It would be fair to say that his standards have fallen this campaign, however.

The stats show that in the Premier League he’s saving a considerably lower proportion of the shots he’s facing this season compared to last, while his impressive run of clean sheets in the EFL Cup came to an end when he was beaten thrice in the final.

The first goal he let in drew criticism from many, including Gary Neville, over his positioning and reaction speed while there have been prominent mistakes in the league too – most notably a horrible air kick that gifted Crystal Palace a goal before the turn of the year.

The above Opta data shows that Forster has made fewer saves in more games this season than last year, with significantly more goals conceded.

With Claude Puel having brought in Mouez Hassen from his old club Nice on loan until the end of the season, and little left for Saints to play for, Forster could now find his position in the team under threat.

Mouez Hassen was given his debut by Claude Puel in 2013

Certainly it would make sense for the club to have a proper look at Hassen, who was presumably signed with a view to being more than a bench-warmer as Southampton aren’t short of goalkeepers with Stuart Taylor, Harry Lewis and the currently injured Alex McCarthy all in reserve, plus Paolo Gazzaniga on loan in Spain.

This time last year Forster was a domineering presence and there were calls for him to be England’s number one, but something’s gone awry this season and some time out of the firing line may well be the best thing for him.

The way he’s been playing it may also be the best thing for Southampton.