Ivan Juric has been unable to turn around the Southampton sinking ship since his arrival to the South Coast in late December, as the Saints stare a dire relegation straight in the face.
The Premier League table doesn’t lie with Southampton rock bottom of the pile currently on just six points, with an alarming ten point gap opening up already between the division’s basement club and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th position.
Whilst survival looks a tall order, there are a few faces in Juric’s camp that will continue to hold their heads high as bright sparks during these bleak times.
Southampton's top performers this season
One of those faces is Mateus Fernandes, who has looked lively for his lowly side even as games have slipped out of their grasp.
He was a standout performer during Southampton’s recent 3-1 loss at Old Trafford with three shots tallied up on Andre Onana’s shaky goal alongside two successful dribbles being registered, whilst the promising Portuguese midfielder also assisted Paul Onuachu’s late header away at Nottingham Forest last time out as the Saints flickered into life at the death.
Away from the Saints number 18, there has also been the occasional brilliance of youth product Tyler Dibling in attack who has managed to pick up two Premier League goals, whilst Kyle Walker-Peters has also threatened to get back to his blistering best.
Even in a Southampton side that has only mustered up a pitiful 15 top-flight strikes, Walker-Peters has still collected two assists, with a number of clubs reportedly circling for his services now amidst talk he will turn down any contract extension put forward to him.
Juric will hope he can keep a firm grip on the 5 foot 8 full-backs this month – away from all this speculation – but the Croat is unlikely to put up much of a fight to hold onto another defender on the contrary.
The latest on Charlie Taylor's future at Southampton
As per Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas earlier this month, Charlie Taylor is one figure Juric will be looking to offload this January, with other names on Thomas’ list looking to exit St Mary’s being Maxwel Cornet and Ben Brereton Diaz, as the latter now finds himself on loan at Sheffield United.
Therefore, Taylor could be the next fringe presence to be moved on, considering he has barely featured for the South Coast side this season after moving to the newly promoted team from Burnley last window.
Indeed, the ex-Clarets man has only started two times for his relegation-doomed outfit in the Premier League, with his last showing in the league seeing him introduced into the game at the half-time interval, only for the Saints to be resoundingly trounced 5-0 by Brentford.
Whilst he is by no means the only individual guilty of being an underperformer when you consider Southampton’s rock-bottom status, his steep wage will also be another major factor as to why there’s an increased hunger to get him off the books this January.
League games played
7
Games started
2
Clean sheets
0
Wage per week
£30k-per-week
Wage costs over the year
£1.5m
Looking at the table above, away from his poor defensive numbers, Taylor also surprisingly rakes in a hefty £30k-per-week pay packet, which means he earns more than both the aforementioned Walker-Peters and Fernandes.
The far brighter pair both earn £20k-per-week away from Taylor’s high earnings, with the Saints defender’s wage costs over the full year coming in at an extortionate £1.5m despite such a lack of game-time.
Therefore, it makes a lot of sense why Southampton want to get rid of the 31-year-old defender this month, as Juric attempts everything in his power to boost spirits to try and build some positive form.
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