A number of Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to praise Will Smallbone following his performance against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Ralph Hasenhuttl handed Smallbone his Premier League debut against Villa as the midfielder started alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the park. Hasenhuttl opted to pick Smallbone over the experienced Oriol Romeu, who was left sitting on the bench.
Smallbone played 80 minutes of Southampton’s 2-0 win over Villa, catching the eye of some Saints fans. He looked composed in midfield and recycled the ball well, picking up good positions and keeping Southampton in possession inside Villa’s half.
The 20-year-old also came close to scoring, as he saw his effort from 25-yards clatter the outside of the post. His strike from distance took a deflection off Tyrone Ming and almost dropped into the bottom corner.
These Southampton fans reacted to his performance on Saturday and were pleased with what they saw from him.
Twitter: Will Smallbone. Absolutely baller 🙌 #SaintsFC (@ChrisHughes1996)
Twitter: Promising PL debut from Smallbone. Has a swagger about him. Hopefully start more games from now until end of season… https://t.co/GxfZt568Uf (@saints247)
Twitter: I thought Smallbone was impressive today. #saintsfc (@I_amDarren)
Twitter: 3 points at St Mary’s and Smallbone is a baller pass it on 🔴⚪️ #saintsfc (@Jaamesmiith)
Twitter: Will Smallbone, what a debut man. #SaintsFC (@SFCBenj)
Twitter: @SouthamptonFC Great win, Smallbone excellent 👏🏼 👏🏼👏🏼 #SaintsFC (@Webby6670)
Twitter: Smallbone looks 13 but runs the midfield like hes 30. #SaintsFC (@LHarrisSFC)
Twitter: Smallbone was class today and was confident in switching the play with both feet he looks like he’s been playing for years #SaintsFC (@BrexitCal)
