A Southampton player has been praised for his recent performance at Euro 2024.
Southampton have several players representing the Saints at Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
The bulk of whom are playing for Scotland with departing duo Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad.
Elsewhere, Jan Bednarek is representing Poland, following a standout season with the Saints in the Championship.
The 58-cap Polish international featured 45 times in Championship fixtures under Russell Martin last season, scoring two goals.
He played a key role for the Saints and was formidable in their play-off final victory over Leeds United in May.
Since the end of the season, Bednarek has started each of Poland’s three games; a friendly win over Turkey and both of their group game defeats vs Netherlands ad Austria.
Southampton star Jan Bednarek praised despite Poland defeat vs Austria
Poland have endured a poor Euro 2024 tournament so far, losing 2-1 against the Netherlands and then 3-1 against Austria on Friday.
Starting as one of three centre-backs in a back-five, Bednarek was unable to prevent his nation from succumbing to defeat against Ralf Rangnick’s Austria.
But despite an overall poor performance, Bednarek has been singled out for praise, with journalist Radoslaw Przybysz telling Polish media outlet Meczki: “I really think that today Jan Bednarek was one of the better representatives of Poland.”
Bednarek made the most accurate passes of any Poland player vs Austria (41 with a 91% accuracy), also making more defensive actions than any of his teammates (7 defensive actions; 3 blocks, 2 clearances, 2 tackles).
A key fear for Russell Martin at Southampton
Club managers may be very wary of their players heading away on international duty during the summer months, especially Martin after what was a long-winded Championship campaign.
But Poland don’t look set to progress out of the group stage which will give Bednarek a bit more recovery time ahead of his eventual return to pre-season training at Southampton.
He’s shown his class with the Saints under Martin and he’s doing so with Poland on the international stage too.
What’s more, his passing stats with Poland showcase how well he fits into the passing style of play that Martin dons at St Mary’s, and at 28 years old, Bednarek could still have a few years left to really fulfil his potential in the Premier League.