Mark Hughes must tell the Southampton board he needs Dusan Tadic if he keeps his job at St Mary’s.
It has become almost traditional this time of year to look across the Southampton squad and note whose stock has risen throughout the previous season. Doing that might be a tad more difficult this year, after a thoroughly miserable campaign for the Saints where they barely survived relegation.
Picking out someone to emerge from that campaign with their reputation enhanced is decidedly difficult.
The fact that goalkeeper Alex McCarthy won the club’s Player of the Season award should tell you all you need to know about how the rest of the squad performed but, when things were at their most critical, Dusan Tadic stepped up. Like the rest of his teammates, the Serbian international spent much of the season under-performing, with questions over his consistency nothing new.
But his reaction to Mark Hughes’ appointment at St Mary’s has borne promise. The 29-year-old was the club’s most improved player following the managerial change, with his brace against Bournemouth largely igniting their survival bid.
Recent reports from Dutch outlet De Telegraaf have claimed Ajax have now made Tadic their priority transfer target this summer. But, should Hughes be given the green light to continue at St Mary’s, one of his first pieces of business should be to ensure Southampton retain their enigmatic play-maker.
Having struggled under two managers who were unable to draw his best form in Mauricio Pellegrini and Claude Puel, there is now plenty of evidence to suggest Hughes can guide a turnaround for the Southampton star.
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