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da fazobetai： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
Before Southampton’s game against Tottenham kicked off on Saturday, Ralph Hasenhuttl had a surprise sprung on him.
Cedric Soares, who had been named in the starting XI at right wing-back, pulled out before the players had even gone out to warm up, for reasons that not even Hasenhuttl himself was aware of.
That forced the former RB Leipzig boss into a last-minute decision, but his choice was presumably not one that many would have expected the Austrian to make.
Snapshot
James Ward-Prowse – a central midfielder by trade – was named in the starting XI initially in midfield, but was moved to right wing-back with Jannik Vestergaard coming into the lineup instead.
The England Under-21 international can play as a right midfielder, but Transfermarkt does not have the right wing-back role down as one he is too familiar with, from those appearances they have recorded his position for.
Even more questionably, Hasenhuttl had a far more natural option on the bench who wasn’t even handed a single minute of action against Spurs, a decision that could potentially hint that the Austrian has lost faith in the player.
Who was left out?
Yan Valery.
The Frenchman – who made 20 Premier League starts last season and 22 in total at right-back or right wing-back – was left sat on the bench throughout the entirety of the game against the north Londoners.
Valery even started the first three games of the current campaign, so it is particularly puzzling as to why Hasenhuttl has suddenly decided not to call on the 20-year-old.
This is not for definite, but Valery’s exclusion could potentially suggest that the Saints boss has lost faith in the academy graduate, seeing as he opted to call on an unnatural option in Ward-Prowse over the more natural fit that is the young defensive prospect.
The south coast side eventually ended up losing 2-1 to the 10 men of Spurs, but Hasenhuttl’s treatment of Valery was a particularly eye-catching aspect of the defeat.