Southampton defender Jack Stephens in action. (Getty Images)
According to The Sun, Southampton are keen to offload defender Jack Stephens in the summer, as manager Ralph Hasenhuttl prepares to overhaul the core of his squad at the end of the season.
The same report claims that Charlie Austin, Wesley Hoedt and Jordy Clasie are also set to be axed from the squad, though the latter two are already out on loan at Celta Vigo and Feyenoord respectively.
Hasenhuttl brought a breath of fresh air to the south coast club upon his arrival at St. Mary’s late last year and his presence has been instrumental in turning the Saints’ fortunes around.
Southampton looked listless under Mark Hughes earlier in the season and found themselves languishing in the relegation zone but the Austrian has managed to get things back on track to a certain extent with his charismatic stewardship and brave decision-making.
The former RB Leipzig manager has relied more on the younger players and the academy products, as Southampton look set to beat the drop in the Premier League this season. It has been a rather lacklustre campaign for the Saints but one can get the feeling that Hasenhuttl arrived as the saviour at just the right time.
The manager’s decision to offload first-team stars like Cedric Soares, Wesley Hoedt and Manolo Gabbidini in the January transfer window was a clear statement of intent that he was not going to stick around with any of the underperforming big-earners at the club.
While Southampton are yet to make a decision on the futures of big-money flops like Sofiane Boufa, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Jordy Clasie and Guido Carrillo, Jack Stephens has also been told by the boss that he doesn’t feature in his plans for the upcoming season.
To put things into perspective, Southampton are in need of bringing about radical changes to their system and offloading some of the underachievers would be a step in the right direction, as they look to raise valuable funds to invest in other areas of the squad.
However, getting Stephens off the books might not be the best idea for the Saints given that he has featured quite regularly under Hasenhuttl. Cashing in on the likes of Carrillo, Elyounoussi, Clasie and Boufal would be a much more realistic option, though it remains to be seen whether the Saints manage to find suitable buyers for their flops.
A product of Plymouth Argyle’s youth system, Stephens was tipped for big things when he joined Southampton back in 2011. The 25-year-old has established himself as an important squad player over the course of his stay on the south coast, while also spending time on loan at Middlesbrough, Swindon Town and Coventry City.
Stephens, who has also represented England at all youth levels up to U21, has made a total of 77 appearances for Southampton in all competitions, scoring on 4 occasions.
The 25-year-old has made a total of 21 appearances in the Premier League this season and also started in Southampton’s latest 1-1 draw against Watford. The likes of Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard and Maya Yoshida have all performed to a reasonable standard at the back, which is probably why Hasenhuttl has been forced to rotate his defensive options.
Well, it is true that Stephens has not yet realised his full potential as a defender but it would be harsh to write him off so early in his career. He always shows high levels of commitment on the pitch and the Saints would need to fork out a sizeable fee to land a replacement, which is not something that they should be looking to do, as they are already short of quality options in the attacking third.
Offloading Stephens would leave Hasenhuttl with only Yoshida, Vestergaard and Bednarek as options in central defence.
The Saints currently do not have another player to fill in the boots of Stephens and they might face a crisis at the back should any of the regular centre-backs be sidelined with an injury. Hoedt has already been shipped out on loan and it is quite apparent that he doesn’t have a future at the club.
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That said, getting a valuable squad player like Jack Stephens off their books could prove to be a risky proposition for the Saints and they would be better off cashing in on other players to raise funds.