Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt is embracing the challenge of having to replace now Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk for the Saints.
Originally signed to partner the commanding Dutchman in the heart of Southampton’s defence, Van Dijk’s departure in late December left the South Coast club without it’s rock at the back, which could certainly be considered a major contributing factor to the club’s poor season.
Being able to partner Van Dijk was a major contributor in convincing the 24-year old to sign in a £15million move from Lazio, and his compatriot’s untimely departure certainly put a spanner in the works. Talking about the strange situation of Van Dijk leaving, as reported by The Telegraph, Hoedt said:
I have to be honest. It was strange. The things that were said to me when I signed were different to the things that happened. That is sometimes how it is. To me, they said he [Van Dijk] would be staying. Eventually he did stay, but in a strange way.
Those are the kind of things that happen in football, and also in life. It was difficult to find the right partnership, but sometimes things like that happen and it is up to the players to deal with it.
It isn’t uncommon for players from abroad to need an adjustment period when they move to the Premier League for the first time, and it was difficult for Hoedt to need to adapt quickly, not only for the betterment of his own career at Southampton but also because he needed to fill a giant hole.
And Hoedt believes that this pressure will have helped him develop quicker in the long run. Hoedt continued:
I know that I am younger than him, and he is one of the best centre-backs in the league. I still have a lot of things to improve but I played a lot of games last season. I was always there, in the good and in the bad.
For centre-backs it is difficult because of the directness of the play. In Italy, it was more tactical, more side-to-side. Here it is just 90 minutes of balls coming to you. As a defender you can play for 80 or 85 minutes but in those one or two minutes in which you are not focused, or made a mistake, they will kill you.
Italy is an amazing league with amazing players and high-level of competition. But the Premier League is just something different. It is 90 minutes of madness sometimes. I had to adapt to it. I think I started well in the beginning — the first three months I did well. Then I had a period in which I played not as good, and the team did the same. That was difficult.
Now under Mark Hughes, the club have strengthened in the transfer market and Hoedt says he knows he needs to step up this season. He continued:
If you look at the squad, the players, the manager, we have more than enough ability and quality to go for the first eight places.
We all need to step up. We need to show that we are better, that we want to make an extra step. I want to make the next step as well — I need to.
