Time is at the essence for some of the remaining players left in the ‘golden group age’.
After seeing the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers breaking into the first team and being successful, the clock is ticking for the others. The likes of Jordan Turnbull, Jack Stephens and Lloyd Isgrove who are on loan at Swindon, Middlesbrough and Barnsley respectively, could not be blamed for being impatient with the lack of first team opportunities.
Isgrove, 22, was set to feature prominently in Saints 2014/2015 campaign after having a major role and progressing well in pre season, with the highlight coming in a 1-0 friendly win against AFC Bournemouth. He also came of the bench in Saints’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield on the opening day of the season. However, new recruits meant that he had to be shipped out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday. Since then, the Wales international has struggled to impress and sustain his form of last year. This has unfortunately caused him to fall down the pecking order.
Jordan Turnbull and Jack Stephens are also running out of time to sustain a challenge to prove that they have a future at Southampton. After signing from Plymouth in 2011 for a fee believed to be in the region of 150,000, the right-back turned centre-back Stephens has struggled to break free from the shackles which were placed on him whilst being in the development squad. After realizing the need to play first team football, Stephens has had two loan spells at Swindon along with Turnbull and one with Middlesbrough. Although the pair have been highly rated amongst the Swindon Town fans, they have struggled to impress first team manager, Ronald Koeman.
So the question is, are they being sent out on loan for first team experience or a lack of opportunities at St Mary’s? With a club that has a philosophy of encouraging and believing in young players, this is certainly a concern for the three who need to progress imminently in order to have a future at the club.
