Ralph Hasenhuttl has discussed why Kevin Danso has not featured regularly for Southampton this season.
The Austrian arrived at the club on the final day of the summer transfer window, with many expecting him to emerge as a mainstay in the manager’s plans.
However, the reality for Danso has been far different, and he has largely found himself on the fringes in the first half of the season.
Hasenhuttl, as quoted by The Daily Echo, remained positive in his assessment of the on-loan defender, but explained that he has seen fit to avoid any disruption to the settled back four of Cedric Soares, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek and Ryan Bertrand in recent weeks.
The boss said:
It’s difficult, the Premier League has a very high level. He’s a young player still improving his game. He came in in a very difficult situation, the team was not really well balanced in that moment.
It was struggling in defence and not easy for him to come in. He has potential, good basic fundamentals and physical strength.
He must develop his game and we will help him. He would like to play more but we have now found a first 11 that has played the last four games.
The automatism they are building is the reason we didn’t rotate even though we had three games in a week. They did it well three times, so we stayed with the same squad and did it well three times.
Read Southampton’s verdict
Danso can feel pretty hard done by this season. He hasn’t made a single Premier League start in his natural position, and has instead been rather hung out to dry in the full-back – sometimes even wing-back – roles.
When he has played in central defence in Carabao Cup outings, he has looked reliable and solid. He was arguably Southampton’s best player in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City at the end of October.
Hasenhuttl’s reluctance to make changes to his back-line is understandable, and the partnership of Stephens and Bednarek has been adequate.
However, Danso has waited patiently for a chance at the back, and ought to have played more than he has.
