Three Southampton first team players surplus to requirements

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Southampton’s Cuco Martina, Jay Rodriguez and Harrison Reed have all struggled for playing time.

Claude Puel has rotated less in recent months, leaving some players frozen out

Southampton’s departures this summer are unlikely to be limited to big hitters like Virgil van Dijk – with no European football next season Claude Puel will likely be interested in slimming down his squad.

With that in mind, here are three first team players who look surplus to requirements at St Mary’s and would be worth getting off the wage bill.

Cuco Martina

Martina was very much a signing of the previous regime, having played under Southampton’s old number two Erwin Koeman at RKC Waalwijk, and that’s showed this season.

He’s not made a league appearance in 2017 and, with his contract up in the summer, looks certain to leave.

We’ll always have that goal against Arsenal though.

.@SouthamptonFC fans won’t forget @CucoMartina’s first #PL start in a hurry… #GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/uZ0kiM1aEo

— Premier League (@premierleague) November 2, 2016

Harrison Reed

Reed is undoubtedly a player of potential but, now 22, he needs to be playing and that hasn’t happened anywhere near enough this season.

Even with Steven Davis and Oriol Romeu out he could only make the bench against West Brom, showing he’s not in Puel’s plans, and is unlikely to be even if one of Jordy Clasie or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is moved on.

Harrison Reed was substituted at half-time in his only Premier League start this term

Tough as it might be to let a homegrown player go, Reed feels like an afterthought currently.

Jay Rodriguez

Once an England international and rising star, ‘J-Rod’ has never been the same since rupturing his ACL and is well down the pecking order in whatever forward position you feel is his best.

The brace at Bournemouth was a bright point in another frustrating season for Jay Rodriguez

It’s a catch-22 situation; he needs to play regularly to get back into form but without form you can’t justify playing him regularly.

Once Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini are fit he won’t even get on the bench, so you feel his role as a squad player could easily be given to an under-23 player.