Southampton's squad could be up for a revamp in the winter window as Ivan Juric aims to halt their poor run of form - though he could look to one of their current ostracised players in Lesley Ugochukwu, with the Chelsea loanee having been utilised sparingly by recently-sacked Russell Martin.
Southampton are sitting on just six points in the Premier League, with just one win in 17 games this season - and the writing is on the wall for their relegation unless something changes. Juric has come in to try and remedy that, and naturally, there will be hurdles that Saints chiefs need to combat in the form of recruiting new stars in the January transfer window. But Ugochukwu could act as a new signing, having featured little under Martin - with Juric able to take advantage.
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Chelsea's Lesley Ugochukwu in action with AFC Bournemouth's Ryan Christie
Ugochukwu joined the Saints in the summer after failing to oust the senior players under Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge despite costing Chelsea £23million, with a season-long loan seen as the best plan for his development in the top-flight, with the intention of giving him the right amount of experience and minutes for him to challenge for games at the Blues in the future.
Lesley Ugochukwu's Premier League statistics - Southampton squad ranking
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But the Frenchman has barely featured for the Saints. Starting his first game of the season in their 3-0 loss to Manchester United back in September, his only other start in the league came in the 3-1 loss at Bournemouth just two weeks later - and since then, he's only had a fleeting run of substitute appearances.
Martin had actually taken him out of the squad for his final four Premier League games as boss, which looked as though he would suffer a ceremonious end to his Saints career - with David Ornstein stating that Ugochukwu would follow Martin out of the club and head back to Chelsea.
But having featured for well over half an hour in the game against Fulham over the weekend, it could be a way back into the season for him. Armel Bella-Kotchap has also held similar talks about his future, and has been reassured by Juric that he will get his chance to impress in the Premier League - with his only appearance coming in a substitute outing against Cardiff in the League Cup back in August.
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Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 24-12-24.