Clearly, Mislav Orsic’s agent has mastered the art of understatement.
“The situation is definitely not ideal,” Branco Hucika told Sportske Novosti last week after the Croatia international was left out of Southampton’s matchday squad for yet another Premier League fixture.
“Mislav does not deserve what is happening to him. However, he does not falter. He works as hard as he can. He is motivated to pull it off (and succeed at St Mary’s). “We expect that, during the rest of the season, he will get a chance in the Premier League.
“He should. Of course he should!”
Hucika’s insistence, it seems, is not shared by the one man who really matters. Orsic was conspicuous by his absence once again as bottom-of-the-table Southampton went down 2-0 at home to Brentford on Wednesday night; head coach Ruben Selles ensuring that the January signing from Dinamo Zagreb has not even made the bench now for seven straight league games.
Mislav Orsic struggling at Southampton
“The squad is very big,” Selles tells Hampshire Live. “With Mislav, it’s my decision to bring some other players in front of him. We’ve had a conversation. I communicated with him.”
Southampton reportedly fought off competition from relegation rivals Everton before completing an £8 million deal for Orsic in early January (24Sata). Nathan Jones was still at the helm back then. Like James Bree, who worked with Jones at Luton Town, Orsic appears to be a victim of Southampton’s managerial churn; a man signed for a previous boss now out of favour under the current one.
According to The Athletic, the feeling is that Orsic has struggled to adapt at Southampton. His performances against lower league Blackpool and Grimsby Town in the FA Cup would bear that out. But the fact remains that Orsic is one of the most reliable, proven goalscorers in a shot-shy Saints squad. Who says he could not have played himself into form with more minutes and more trust?
Orsic broke the 20-goal barrier in three straight seasons for Zagreb. He hit 13 in 27 games during the first half of this term. Orsic once knocked Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham out of Europe too with a hat-trick that will go down in Croatian footballing folklore.
Yes, Orsic has looked a little lost at times since arriving in his new home. But it’s not as if those ahead of him in Selles’ pecking order are thriving. A fully fit and confident Orsic could be the match-winning Southampton oh-so desperately need but, with just two months of the season remaining, it seems that Selles has already come to the conclusion that the Saints are better off without a man who, in his last four-and-a-half seasons, scored only just shy of 100 goals in all competitions.
“All options will be open,” Hucika adds, refusing to rule out a summer exit. “We will see what happens in the next two and a half months. Staying, if he plays, and a new club are on the table.”
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