Recent defeats should not detract from what has been a largely positive season so far for Southampton, but they have certainly struggled when Flynn Downes has been unavailable.
That has been the case for the past five games, with Russell Martin‘s side losing four of those games having gone a club record 25 games unbeaten in all competitions prior.
Shea Charles and Will Smallbone have both tried, but Downes is simply irreplaceable in the holding midfield role that is so key in the way Martin wants his team to play. The concern with this is twofold: Downes has missed nine games this season and he is only on loan.
With his athleticism and defensive abilities combined with his almost flawless passing, Downes is effectively the perfect ‘6’ for a possession-based side. However, there is one Southampton icon who arguably would have outperformed the 25-year-old in the current set-up.
Oriol Romeu perfect for Russell Martin’s Southampton
That man is Oriol Romeu, the 32-year-old who left the club in the summer of 2022.
The Spaniard joined the Saints in the summer of 2015 and, despite taking a while to establish himself as a regular starter, achieved cult-hero status in his seven seasons at the club.
Romeu’s shaved head encapsulates his hard man image on the pitch and he was adored by Southampton fans for his passion, hard-tackling and the inevitable yellow card that he seemed to collect every time he stepped onto the pitch.
The defensive side of his game would make him a real asset for the current side, especially given their recent difficulties in shutting out opponents, but it is his work on the ball that would mean Martin would appreciate him so much.
In stark contrast to his work out of possession, on the ball Romeu has all the ability and composure that you would expect of a player who learned his trade at Barcelona’s world famous La Masia academy.
Having left Barcelona to join Chelsea as a 19-year-old, Romeu’s career went full circle when he returned to his boyhood club last year following a season at Girona. He may be a stop-gap signing following the departure of veteran Sergio Busquets, but Romeu will rightly not care one bit given he has played a further 28 games since returning to the club.
According to FBREF, in the past year Romeu has sustained a pass completion rate of 87.8% in La Liga whilst attempting an average of 61.35 passes per 90 minutes. Downes has actually performed better in that regard, with a 94.13% pass success rate and an average of 79.56 passes per game. This must be caveated by the fact that not only is Romeu playing at a higher level, Southampton have averaged 66.9% possession this season compared to Barcelona’s 64.3%.
Given his range of passing, reading of the game and ability to dictate the tempo of games with ease, there is no doubt that Martin would love a player of Romeu’s quality in his Southampton side.
Pep Guardiola an admirer of Romeu
Martin has cited Pep Guardiola as one of his inspirations in management, with his possession principles similar to those of the Manchester City boss.
Ironically, it was Guardiola who handed Romeu his Barcelona debut when manager of the club and in 2022, ahead of Romeu’s 200th Premier League appearance, his ex-boss spoke glowingly of the holding midfielder.
Guardiola had previously claimed that Romeu was one of his favourite midfielders and when asked why that was, the City boss responded: “It is his understanding of the game, I like holding midfielders that understand the game. He knows exactly what he has to do”.
This is high praise from a man who performed the role himself at Barcelona in a successful playing career before overseeing some of the best midfielders in world football in his time as manager of Barca, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City.
Romeu’s manager at the time of his 200th Premier League appearance, Ralph Hasenhuttl, was equally as complimentary of the man who played 256 games for Southampton in total, as he said: “He is a fantastic character in the team and, with the ball, he is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League”.
Romeu departing the club at the end of the 2021/22 season is one of a number of factors that many fans attribute relegation last season to, given his leadership qualities and the standards he set for both himself and his teammates. With Roméo Lavia signed and Romeu subsequently likely to see his role reduced, the club allowed the midfielder to join Girona for a nominal fee given his service to the club but it was a decision many fans saw as a huge risk.
Now 32, Romeu is unlikely to be part of the long-term plans at Barcelona; although he has featured 19 times for the club this season.
A nostalgic return to St Mary’s is very unlikely given Southampton’s recruitment strategy of signing young players with potential, but had he been five years younger Romeu would have been the perfect anchor to Martin’s midfield.