Germany call-up proves Saints youngster Bella-Kotchap on track for big things

 

Being a Southampton fan in recent years has been testing to say the least. Routinely at risk of losing their star performers, there is also the possibility they might be dragged into a relegation scrap. Indeed, Saints finished just five points above the drop zone last season and while they were fortunate that Norwich, Watford and Burnley all endured worse campaigns, it's a little too close for comfort for the south coast side. 

 

Stretching back to last season, they have now won only two of their last 12 league matches and that has ramped up the pressure on head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl to turn the results around. One of those victories did come over Chelsea last month, and that perhaps bought the Austrian some time at St. Mary's, yet he needs to oversee wins with greater regularity once the international break draws to a close if he is to remain at the Saints helm. 

 

What was crucial, though, is that he had the backing of the board in the summer. While experienced stars Fraser Forster, Shane Long and Nathan Redmond have all departed, a group of exciting youngsters have since made the move to the south coast. Saints spent in excess of £10m each on Gavin Bazunu, Sekou Mara and Romeo Lavia in the summer market, with the goalkeeper, at 20 years of age, the oldest of the trio. 

 

However, the crucial addition has come in defence. While few in England were familiar with Armel Bella-Kotchap prior to his move to St. Mary's, the 20-year-old centre-back has quickly established himself as a key man for Southampton, and a recognised quality centre-back, so much so that Liverpool and Bayern are believed to be keeping tabs on the player, who saw his good form rewarded with a Germany call-up. A WhoScored rating of 7.06 is better than any other Saints player with the youngster quickly adjusting to he rigours of Premier League football. 

 

As a replacement for Jan Bednarek, who departed for Aston Villa on loan last month, Bella-Kotchap has already exceeded expectations, even in a Saints side that has conceded 11 goals in the opening seven matches, though four of those came in the opening weekend 4-1 loss at Tottenham, a defeat he didn't feature in. In terms of defending, Hasenhuttl looks for his centre-backs to step out of defence to cut out the passing lanes to help quickly turn defence into attack. 

 

This is one of the German's best qualities, so it's little surprise he quickly transitioned to a new league and team. Only Brentford's Ben Mee (18) has made more interceptions than Bella-Kotchap (15) in the Premier League this season, with the former having made one more appearance than the latter. Stretching back to the start of the 2021/22 campaign, Mohammed Salisu (88) and Bednarek (75) are first and second in this metric, so it's evident the style of defending Hasenhuttl seeks to implement, which has helped Bella-Kotchap quickly settle. 

 

 

This aggressive approach also means no player has won possession in the defensive third more times than Bella-Kotchap (32) in the Premier League this season. For a Saints side that has a possession average of 42.7%, that the sixth lowest in England's top tier, they still rank low for shots conceded per game (10.9), in part due to the defensive work of Bella-Kotchap alongside Salisu at the heart of the defence. 

 

There are other factors involved as to why Saints concede so few shots, including the impressive defensive work of James Ward-Prowse and Lavia in Hasenhuttl's favoured 4-2-3-1 system, but Bella-Kotchap has been key at the back when utilised. This is further reinforced in that he ranks ninth for clearances (31) in the Premier League this season, showing that he is in the right place at the right time to alleviate pressure on the Saints goal, and it's part of the reason why he has been called up to the Germany senior side this month 

 

While there are areas to his game that do need improving, notably his distrubtion with Bella-Kotchap returning just a 71.9% pass success rate from an average of 38.5 passes per 90, this is an area that will improve in time. Given they signed the defender for under £10m, Saints have a real gem on their hands and with each passing week, the money spent to sign Bella-Kotchap from Bochum looks a bargain.

Germany call-up proves Saints youngster Bella-Kotchap on track for big things