The past week has seen the departure of one of Southampton’s most influential players in 25-year-old midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. Now it is the task of Jordy Clasie to fill the void left at St. Mary’s after the Frenchman’s departure.
Having made 260 appearances for the club in a seven-year stint, Schneiderlin moves on to pastures new at Old Trafford, allegedly pursuing playing time in the UEFA Champions League. One of the most consistent performers over the past few seasons, Schneiderlin was almost certain to leave in last year’s offseason window, but was denied permission to depart due to the number of players that had already transferred away from the Saints.
From the conclusion of the 2014-15 season it was made clear that the Frenchman would be allowed a transfer from the club and therefore, due to the clear presence of demand for his services, that he would be inevitably be leaving. The question that fans wanted answered became merely where he would be transferring to, and for how much?
Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham showed a strong interest in Schneiderlin last year and the Gunners again were in the running for his signature, but it seemed that Louis van Gaal was ultimately the more invested. Almost simultaneously with the confirmation of the signing of German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin was unveiled as a United player, completing at £25 million deal.
From the beginning of negotiations between Southampton and United, Feyenoord midfielder Jordy Clasie was touted as a potential replacement with Saints manager Ronald Koeman speaking highly of the 24-year-old. Koeman and Clasie had a history together at Feyenoord, with the Dutchman managing the club before signing on in the EPL in 2014.
Clasie was a regular under Koeman, playing and starting almost every game across the three years the now 52-year-old was in charge. Koeman was in fact the one who handed a young Clasie a spot in the Feyenoord starting line-up showing faith in the central-midfielder which turned into over 100 appearances between 2011 and 2014.
The signing of the Feyenoord captain came at a fee reported as around £7 million, possibly rising to over £10 million with all the add-ons. Clasie has become the fourth Southampton signing of this window with Cuco Martina, Cédric Soares and Juanmi all already having put pen to paper earlier this month.
It would seem that Clasie was brought in with the idea of holding down a starting place in the Saints’ midfield, a direct replacement for Schneiderlin in Koeman’s defensive midfield pairing. The five-foot-six Dutchman, however, is significantly smaller and less solid than the outgoing Frenchman (five-foot-11) and will probably be more utilised for his ball playing ability.
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Victor Wanyama, being the most likely to partner Clasie in the XI, would most preferably operate as the defensive cover for the Saints’ back four, whilst the new arrival could work more as a playmaker distributing the ball out from the back.
Should James Ward-Prowse or Steven Davis come into the midfield then the partnership would be more based around play on the ball as compared to off it. The Dutch central player would have combine well with Ward-Prowse or Davis to ensure that the Saints maintain possession and play it out from the defence effectively, relying more exclusively on the back four to fulfill the side’s defensive duties.
Having made 11 appearances for the Netherlands, two of which were at last year’s FIFA World Cup, Clasie is clearly a highly rated player who is seen to have a lot of potential. Having just turned 24-years-old, it would seem that his best years are ahead of him, with a solid partnership sure to resume between him and Koeman.
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