Jake Hesketh has signed for League One side Lincoln City on loan for the remainder of the season.
This is an excellent chance for Hesketh to impress Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl during his time at the Imps, and also to potentially save his future at the club.
With chances at Saints limited for Hesketh, he doesn’t seem to be in Hasenhuttl’s plans at the moment. He is yet to get any chances in the first team under the Austrian, and this temporary exit will be a great opportunity for him to showcase his talent in the lower tiers.
It could also be his last chance on loan to show that he’s worth keeping on the South Coast. Otherwise, it may be time for him to move on for good.
With Lincoln flying in the league this season, sitting second only behind Ipswich, it will be a solid fit for Hesketh, slotting into a free-flowing team that plays very attacking and entertaining football. This was on show in City’s 4-2 defeat to Premier League side Everton in the Carabao Cup.
Not only that, he will be coached by one of the best up and coming coaches in England, Danny Cowley, who has a very similar managing style to Hasenhuttl. The Lincoln boss will surely improve Hesketh’s game ahead of his return to Saints at the end of the season.
If Hesketh does perform on loan, Hasenhuttl has to give him a chance next pre-season. Such an opportunity must come soon for Hesketh, however, or the Englishman may follow the same path of the likes of Sam Gallagher, who had loan move after loan move and limited chances until a permanent deal was struck. This, in itself, may pressure Saints into making a quick decision over the future of Hesketh at the club.
So, with all this in mind, Hesketh will have to knuckle down at Lincoln and work to impress the Saints manager before he makes his return, in order to potentially save his Saints future. But at only the age of 23, he may still have a few years to rescue his career at St Mary’s.
