Southampton’s big signing in the last transfer window, the marquee man who fans and pundits alike felt would have the biggest impact on the Saints’ 2015-16 campaign, Jordy Clasie has been somewhat underwhelming early in his Premier League career.
The ex-Feyenoord captain was signed on 15 July this year for a fee reported as being around the £8-10 million mark and was the big import to the club during another window where rumours and exits from St. Mary’s were far more the focus than those going the other way. Clasie offered a lot of promise after an excellent last couple of seasons at Feyenoord, including a display of form good enough to warrant a spot in Louis van Gaal’s 2014 World Cup squad.
Another signing by Ronald Koeman to come from the Eredivisie, Clasie seemed a better option on paper than even the likes of Dusan Tadić and Graziano Pellè, who had both had reasonably good starts to their Premier League careers. Koeman had coached him for a period at Feyenoord where he also played with the focal point of Southampton’s current attack in Pellè, so the adjustment to the Saints did not seem like it would be the most difficult task.
Preseason reports indicated that he seemed to be performing adequately and fitting in to the Saints XI. Clasie was selected and played in the Europa League qualifier against Dutch side Vitesse but when the start of the Premier League rolled round he was absent from the matchday squad against Newcastle. It was revealed shortly after that he had sustained an ankle injury and would be out for several weeks.
It turned out to be in round nine that the Dutchman would make his league debut with Southampton, coming off the bench against Leicester City for the last half-hour. Since then, Clasie has started every game for the South Coast club but is still yet to run out a full 90 minutes.
It would be wrong to say that Clasie performed poorly in his first four games because he played well enough. He just lacked match fitness which he admitted to in a recent interview with the Daily Echo.
“I’m feeling good but now I’m at 90-85 per cent,” the midfielder said.
“But believe me, give me a couple of weeks and then I’m 100 per cent.”
Ball retention and passing could have been better and crisper and his positioning could have been smarter but overall, he still seemed to offer the best option in the midfield and so many of his shortcomings could be traced back to fitness issues. The step-up in quality between the Netherlands and England could also be a source although it appears more that Clasie lacks a spark rather than lacks skill.
The most recent fixture, a home match against Stoke City in which the Saints lost 1-0, was the only time where it could be really said that Clasie had a poor overall game. Far from being the only one in his side to offer a sub-par showing, Clasie was untidy on the ball, wayward with his passing and overall ineffective seeing him departing the game in the 64th minute.
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The big problem for the import, it would appear, is that he was brought into the squad to fill a role left by talisman Morgan Schneiderlin who departed for the red half of Manchester in the offseason. A difficult task at the best of times, the Dutch international has had to struggle with injury as well as the pressure of expectation on his shoulders.
His quality is clear and at 24 years of age and five games into his English football career, he certainly has time to develop into the type of footballer that Southampton need him to be. He certainly appears to have the faith of Koeman and all interest really lies in how he will perform once he returns to full fitness.
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