Shane Long has hardly featured for Southampton in the opening stages of the season, and with his current contract expiring next summer, it’s hard to see a future for him at St Mary’s.
The 32-year-old played regularly under Ralph Hasenhuttl towards the back-end of last term but has not yet made a single start for the team in 2019/20.
Che Adams and Danny Ings are the two players who are clearly ahead of Long in the pecking order, while it also seems that 19-year-old Michael Obafemi has bypassed his compatriot in the manager’s estimations.
Therefore, it is difficult to see a way back for Long, who joined Southampton for £12 million from Hull City in the summer of 2014.
Hasenhuttl, largely as a consequence of the onus he places upon tactical flexibility, would probably be best served to have four striking options at his disposal.
The manager has often lined up with one orthodox forward, accompanied by two natural wide players, but has also shown a willingness to play a more typical attacking partnership.
Thus, it would be something of a surprise if Long is not replaced, and Saints are left with only three strikers; two of which – Ings and Obafemi – have encountered their fair share of injury troubles over the past 18 months.
Hasenhuttl may be keen to dip into the transfer market to reinforce his options in the final third, but looking within would certainly not be an ill-advised choice, with young Dan N’Lundulu impressing in the youth ranks.
The former Chelsea youngster has always been tipped for success at St Mary’s, but long-term injury lay-offs appeared to slow down his progress in the past couple of years.
N’Lundulu has since bounced back from his setbacks, though, and is proving to be one of the club’s most exciting talents.
The striker signed a contract extension at the club last month which will keep him on Saints’ books until 2022. Perhaps the decision to reward his impressive recent showings with a new deal positions him well to break into the senior setup.
N’Lundulu has displayed the fearlessness, direct running and dynamism that Hasenhuttl favours in his attacking players, and it comes as no surprise to note that he has trained with the first-team squad on several occasions already this season.
It would be a gamble to fast-track the striker from the Under-23 side to becoming the fourth-choice striker in Hasenhuttl’s plans for the senior squad.
However, looking towards the club’s academy instead of pursuing transfer targets from elsewhere could not only save Southampton some money, but help uncover the latest impressive talent from the conveyor belt of youth stars at Staplewood.
