It goes without saying that Southampton have one of the most impressive squads outside of the top six in the whole of the Premier League.
There is an abundance of attacking quality at the club, with some exceptional defenders and some promising midfielders, along with plenty of exciting youngsters coming through the ranks.
However, one thing that has been rather clear this season is the amount of deadwood that Saints have at their disposal.
Of course, strength in depth is important at any top flight club and safety in numbers is something that should be targeted.
It’s good to have this depth, but is a big squad really that beneficial when the backup options aren’t good enough? It’s hard to justify some players’ places in Saints’ squad at the moment.
So, I’ve taken a look at the players that Claude Puel should seriously consider offloading when the summer transfer window comes around.
Florin Gardos
Gardos showed promising signs in his first season but has made just one appearance since then. He’s clearly out of favour, he’s injury prone and he’s effectively the fifth choice central defender. He needs to move on to revitalise his career.
Lloyd Isgrove
Isgrove’s contract expires at the end of the season and quite frankly, he’s nowhere near good enough. He’s looked decent on loan spells away from the club but has been pretty awful when he’s played at senior level.
Jordy Clasie
Clasie isn’t a bad player and he does have good qualities about him. However, it’s difficult to justify keeping hold of him. Steven Davis and Oriol Romeu are ahead of him in terms of ability and in Puel’s preference, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is likely to have greater involvement next season, and Harrison Reed’s development is probably being hindered by Clasie being there.
There is a player in there, but perhaps he needs to find his feet outside of England as he’s struggled to cope with the Premier League’s physical demands.
Cuco Martina
There shouldn’t really need to be an explanation for this one, but I’ll give one anyways. He’s out of contract in the summer and we’re all praying he goes, being brutally honest.
He comes across as a nice guy but he can’t tackle, can’t cross, can’t pass, is positionally unintelligent and is a Championship player at the very best.
Cedric Soares and Jeremy Pied are two very good right-back options for next season.
Shane Long
Here’s one that will no doubt infuriate 90% of the Southampton fan base. I think we should sell Shane Long.
He’s now 30-years-old, he’s scored less goals than the likes of Oumar Niasse this season – the man that looked to be the second coming of Ali Dia – he’s very poor in front of goal, he dives often, he’s not great on the ball and he’s living off last season’s success in the supporters’ minds.
Long’s a relentless worker and a good professional, but he isn’t good enough for what Saints want to achieve. The club should part ways with the Irish striker this summer.
Stuart Taylor
What’s he here to do again?
Taylor’s now effectively the fourth choice goalkeeper at Saints and with his contract set to expire this summer, it’s hard to see why he was signed in the first place.
Jay Rodriguez
Rodriguez has talent in there somewhere, but he just simply doesn’t cut it anymore. He’s lost a yard or two of pace, he’s not as clinical as he once was and he doesn’t really suit how Puel wants his team to play.
It’s a real shame that Rodriguez’s career has gone this way but to stand any chance of revitalising his career, he needs to move on.
Paulo Gazzaniga
Gazzaniga has been out at Rayo Vallecano this season and has made a blunder or two while he’s been there, but that’s normal for goalkeepers.
The issue he’ll find is that he’ll now be the third choice goalkeeper at the club when he returns and at 25-years-old, he’ll surely be looking to play consistent first-team football.
He should move on this summer to give his career the best chance.