Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
Jan Bednarek had a pretty torrid time against Wolves yesterday, managing to score a middle comedic own goal and was pretty unlucky to block a last minute shot from Joao Gomes, only to see the ball land right back at his opponents feet to curl into the far corner.
Post-match reaction was not pretty reading, with most Southampton fans blaming now-sacked manager Nathan Jones or Bednarek for the momentum changing own-goal, which was unfortunate but a situation where a better defender might have sorted their feet out quicker.
The atmosphere at Southampton has not been good since Jones’ bizarre comments last week about “being one of the best in Europe” prior to taking over at Southampton and having since “compromised his principles”. Many pundits and journalists (this one included) were surprised he hadn’t been shown the door prior to yesterday’s game, but Southampton will now be on the lookout for a new manager to help get rid of the toxic atmosphere and get them some results.
It has to be said Bednarek hardly helped this sense of bad feeling, having declared he had now joined a “big club” when he went on loan to Aston Villa at the end of August, only to be rarely used and end up back at Southampton five months later. Bednarek has improved the defence, albeit marginally, but you can hardly blame supporters for turning against someone who seemed to openly (and disrespectfully) suggest he didn’t want to be there any longer not even six months ago.
He’s almost certain to be out the door in summer, but who will sign him? It’s thought interest from Roma has been longstanding, but the spending power of the Italian clubs is limited due to a whole host of issues. Also not out of the realms of possibility is a move within the Premier League, and it had been long-rumoured that Antonio Conte is an admirer of Bednarek. It’s unlikely that he would end up at Tottenham as a starter, more likely a rotational option if a move were to materialise for Bednarek.
For now however, he remains a Southampton player, Bednarek will have to prove to the incoming manager that he is worthy of being a starting-quality centre back.
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