Hesketh was substituted before half-time in Southampton’s Europa League tie against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Hapoel Be’er-Sheva’s Ben Bitton in action with Southampton’s Jake Hesketh
Southampton manager Claude Puel has backed young midfielder Jake Hesketh to bounce back after he was substituted in the first half of the Saints Europa League tie against Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the Daily Echo reports.
Hesketh was substituted after 35 minutes of the tie in Israel, with Dusan Tadic taking his place.
It may come as a knock to the player’s confidence, especially after performing so well a week earlier against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup where he found the net in a 2-0 win, but the Southampton manager talked of protecting the 20-year-old.
Southampton manager Claude Puel
Puel is quoted in the Daily Echo, saying: “When I put him in the start of the team it’s a young player for the future but it’s important also to protect him and all the players.
“It was difficult but we will see Jake in other games and other moments and it’s not a problem.
“I prefer to change because it was difficult that we didn’t have the ball.
“It was physical and I prefer to protect him and it was for me a tactical problem.”
Southampton manager Claude Puel
It’s never good for a player to be substituted in the first half, but Puel clearly feels it was both in the best interest of the player and the team as they came away from Israel with a 0-0 draw, and still in a strong position to qualify from the group.
However, Hesketh has obviously demonstrated enough talent for him to be considered by Puel in the first place, and in a season where Southampton are likely to play a lot of games, he is surely going to get his chance again.
Sometimes a younger player just needs that bit of taking care of, even if it an early substitution sometimes to take them out of the firing line. Hesketh will just need to respond in a positive fashion when he gets his next first team opportunity – which one doubts will be far away.
Southampton’s Jake Hesketh celebrates scoring with James Ward-Prowse
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