da aposte e ganhe： According to reports on Italian website Il Messaggero, Serie A side Lazio are targeting a move for Southampton midfielder Jordy Clasie this summer as a potential replacement for Lucas Biglia, if the Argentine joins AC Milan.
da fazobetai： The Dutchman moved to St Mary’s two years ago following the arrival of Ronald Koeman as manager, but he has struggled to cement his spot in the first team since then, often finding himself on the substitutes’ bench with the likes of Victor Wanyama, Oriol Romeu and Steven Davis preferred in the middle of the park.
Those opportunities were even less frequent when Koeman left for Everton last year and Claude Puel took the reins, with Clasie featuring in just 16 Premier League matches last term.
While he has failed to become a regular, the 25-year-old has certainly shown some glimpses that he could be a success in the English top flight, and the Netherlands international perhaps deserves another chance to stake his claim for a place in the team next season.
Here are three reasons Southampton should keep hold of Clasie…
New manager
Saints are still looking to appoint Claude Puel’s successor after sacking the Frenchman earlier this month, and it would surely make sense to keep hold of Clasie at least until the new man comes in and makes his own decisions on the squad.
With Dutchman Frank de Boer one of the names in the frame for the job, the 25-year-old midfielder could still have a great opportunity to salvage his career with the south coast outfit and become a key player next season.
Romeu’s midfield partner
In the second half of last season, Southampton switched from the 4-4-2 diamond formation back to the 4-2-3-1 system that had been so successful in the past three seasons, and it meant that Oriol Romeu needed a central midfield partner.
While club captain Steven Davis filled in there, it was clear that an energetic player who can be box-to-box is what needed, and the Northern Irishman fails to provide that.
Clasie certainly has all of the ingredients to be a bulldog style player in the middle of the park, but he will need to improve his stamina if he is to fill that role in the future.
Goal threat
While Clasie has only scored two goals in two seasons at St Mary’s, they have both been brilliant strikes from outside the penalty area – against Arsenal in the League Cup and then West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League this season.
While the likes of Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dusan Tadic have struggled to find the target with shots from range, their Dutch midfield teammate has shown that he has a lethal shot on him, and that could be a useful weapon next season.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.