Southampton forward Shane Long has suggested that he does not know where his long-term future lies following his loan move to Championship side Bournemouth on transfer deadline day.
Ralph Hasenhuttl decided to let him move on loan to Bournemouth in the final few hours of the January transfer window, with the Saints securing the loan signing of Takumi Minamino on loan from Liverpool. That means the 34-year-old was freed up to move elsewhere in search of regular game-time during the rest of the season.
Long had only just signed a new two-year deal with the Saints back in the summer, but the experienced Irishman managed only 11 goalless Premier League appearances for Southampton this term, with just one of those coming from the start (Sofascore).
Speaking to Bournemouth’s official website, via Hampshire Live, the striker revealed that he does not yet know what will happen with his long-term future in the summer when he returns to St Mary’s from his loan spell with the Cherries. He said:
I’ve really enjoyed my time at Southampton, it is a really good club, a really well-run club. I respect them as much as they respect me. It is somewhere that has really progressed my career, I’ve a lot of fond memories there.
Obviously, playing time wasn’t really there this season for me, so it was good for my career to get out and play some games, and I’m thankful I have come to a set-up like I have in Bournemouth.
Who knows what the future holds? But I have nothing but fond memories from my time at Southampton.
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Long has been an excellent servant for the Saints and he has been one of their most consistent and reliable performers throughout the last six-and-a-half seasons. The 34-year-old has never been massively prolific, having reached double figures for league goals just once for Southampton in 2015/16 (Sofascore), but was always a hard worker and brilliant at pressing from the front.
Hasenhuttl obviously thought that he could still have something to offer Southampton last summer when he offered him a new two-year deal, so it will therefore be interesting to see if that remains the case when the Irishman returns to the club in a few months’ time.
Long is at the stage in his career where he would like to be playing matches regularly, so the move to Bournemouth made perfect sense. It will now be up to him to show his best form in the Championship and try to help fire the Cherries to promotion, and then his future could look a little brighter either way in the summer.
