With Jan Bednarek seemingly set to miss his first Premier League game of the season, Saints are struggling for central defenders to take on the League leaders Liverpool at St Mary's, is it time to bring in a player out of the cold.

When the news came through that Jan Bednarek was likely to miss the game against Liverpool, most Southampton supporters just sighed and felt that that would mean that Russell Martin pet favourite Jack Stephens would be the replacement.

But the truth is that there are other options, Nathan Wood who signed from Swansea City in the summer would be an option, but at 22, Wood has not played above Championship level and it would be a tough call to bring him into a the side for his Premier League debut, especially since his only games this season have been 2 League cup appearances.

However another candidate might be Armel Bella-Kotchap, he was one of the few plus points two years ago as we slumped to relegation and he impressed with both his strength and speed, however injury hit, both back then and also last season when he was on loan at PSV Eindhoven.

He played against Cardiff City in the League cup earlier this season, but since then little has been heard of him, is he injured ? has he fallen out with Russell Martin ? the silence is deafening.

But if he is fit I would suggest that he would be the best option to replace Bednarek, he is big strong and he is fast, not attributes that you would immediately think of when considering the other options to replace the Polish central defender on Sunday.

So is Russell Martin a man manager ? that is another question not fully answered in his time here, this weekend we will perhaps find out, has he the ability to adapt his thinking to bring in Bella-Kotchap from the cold and harness his talents.

We need genuine Premier League quality players and let us be blunt, Bella-Kotchap fits that profile perhaps more than any of our other central defensive options other than Bednarek.

The doubts about Bella-Kotchap relate to his injury issues and perhaps a little about his attitude, but a good manager can work with a player to get around that and get the best out of him, at St Mary's since Ralph Hasenhuttl left, none of the 3 men who have replaced him ever gave you that feeling that they can bring the best out of a player or for that matter the team as a whole.

Sadly I don't think we will see Bella-Kotchap against Liverpool, Russell Martin will do the same things he has done all season and get the same result, he cannot think outside of his own possession football game to the maximum, he forces players to play that game, even when it is clear that they are not suited to that way of playing.

Martin is now entering 5 games where it is difficult to see us getting even a single point, unless he tries something different and plays a game that suits the players he has to hand, then I fear that Sunday could put a big nail in his coffin.

All Photos Via Reuters

Block8 added 10:13 - Nov 21 If the rumours are true ABK is refusing to play in the U21 side, so there will be question marks over his fitness. Match fitness is the only reason some of our first team squad appear at U21 level. We have Wood, we have Edwards, who can also play football (note for RM there) Charlie Taylor can play CB and is a very experienced defender but we all know it will be Jack. The only upside to this is we just might drop this ridiculous hybrid centre half/central midfield role that leaves us badly exposed to counter attacks. Liverpool have the pace and passing ability to run through our press easily. Funny how they can top the PL without p*ss*ng about sideways and backwards!

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Bowlercow added 10:39 - Nov 21 If ABK or any other centre back comes in to replace JB that would probably mean our captain would be shoe horned in at LB He would then be face to face with Salah Now that frightens me If he is fit and training we'll I would select ABK & THB as our first choice centre back pairing anyway
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StRipper added 11:34 - Nov 21 Sadly for him and us, it would look as if ABKs football career is over. What a beast of a player he looked in his first season. Just like Larios, who missed the whole of last season. ABK has barely been able to play a minute of football since October '23. So whether it really is his shoulder or actually his heart injury, he's clearly unable to play football at a competitive level any more. Which was why he failed his medical to go back to Germany. No doubt at some point he will be released. He only has 2 years left on his contract. Its definitely going to be a challenge for our defence on Sunday, but as Block 8 said, we do have other options. Whoever we have in defence, this game is likely to be won or lost in Midfield. If we continue to fail to create chances and we keep passing it about in our own third just to keep possession, we'll get picked off as we have in every other game this season and it could get ugly

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underweststand added 12:19 - Nov 21 No player could refuse the chance to play against Liverpool and make a name for himself. Either he will make a name for himself and get a move back to a European club in January, or if the predictable scoreline happens, he'll be as guilty as the others if we lose big time. If he ends up putting Mo Salah in his pocket his transfer value will soar and we will get a profit on the deal. Most of the games upto the New Year are against top 8 clubs, so there is nothing to lose but to see his real potential.

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halftimeorange added 13:24 - Nov 21 I'll be reasonably happy if we aren't slaughtered on Sunday but, I'd actually be more surprised if RM alters his possession at any cost philosophy to limit what Liverpool can achieve rather than what he wants us to. Not relaxing the total rigidity of his policy has cost us several points this season and we now need to scrap for everything irrespective of whether we kick the ball into Row Z instead of trying to retain it. I think RM has sold some players short. Ryan Manning, for example. Okay, he's not a world beater, he's on the slow side but, he does in my opinion, seem prepared to give of his best for the club and I think that if he was told to get rid of the ball forwards instead of trying to retain it he would be more effective and not so maligned by many supporters. Up front we're blessed with speed, Archer, Armstrong, Sulemana even Fernandes, they're all quick. We currently create very little so fast play from back to front has to be worth a go. I'd also like to understand why Onuachu and Archer aren't ever on together. It's a combination that might work. My guess is we'll never know. Maybe Russell is using Saints to hone his skills in the hope that a bigger club with more skillful players will come calling. I doubt it as there'll be a negative record on his CV at the end of this season that will last for years to come.

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YosemiteSaint added 18:22 - Nov 21 My best guess is that the rift between ABK and everyone else at the club is too far to bridge. Premier League managers find out how to overcome such stuff. But managers whose imagination doesn't extend beyond the Championship apparently find ways to leave proven talent on the wayside.
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kingolaf added 19:00 - Nov 21 He should have so many nails in his coffin it would need smelting rather than burning. It will be same old same old and the idiots running the club will sit on their hands once again.
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