As Southampton secured their place in their first League Cup semi-final for the first time since 1987 on Wednesday night, there was a key man missing from the 18-man squad. While his absence wasn’t overly missed considering the 2-0 win at Arsenal, Oriol Romeu has become a familiar face in the current Saints set up. His move to the south coast last summer went largely under the radar as the club recruited Virgil van Dijk and Jordy Clasie, to name two fellow arrivals. The Spaniard endured an underwhelming debut campaign at St. Mary’s, but under Claude Puel; Romeu’s become an integral member of the starting XI.
The former Barcelona and Chelsea man has started every Premier League game under the French boss and four of five Europa League matches this season. In a summer where Saints spent big to bring in the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Nathan Redmond and Sofiane Boufal, Romeu could have been handed a bit-part role, but he’s consolidated a regular starting spot under Puel. He is hardly going to rip up trees, but Romeu is the type of player every team requires in order to be successful.
A midfielder to break up play and recycle possession effectively is vital in the modern game, regardless of their standing, which only increases the importance of Romeu’s role. As the club’s midfield anchor, the 25-year-old shields the backline with aplomb and allows the full-backs to attack where required, which has seen Saints develop a statistically calculated WhoScored style of ‘playing with width’. Given Puel has largely deployed a narrow 4-3-1-2 formation this season, it’s imperative the left and right-back push forward to help stretch opponents.
In that regard, Romeu’s influence in the defensive and midfield third is pivotal. Saints may average a decent 53.1% share of possession but when they don’t have the ball, they require a midfielder to break up play, particularly as once the full-backs are pushed forward, there’s a risk they could be caught short at the back. It’s partly for that reason why of the 10.5 shots per game Saints are conceding this season, only 2.4 are on target, with opponents forced into pot shots from distance rather than being able to get close enough to properly test Fraser Forster.
Indeed, only Danny Drinkwater (72) has won possession in the midfield third more times than Romeu (69) in the Premier League this season. His performances, though, often get overlooked, with Romeu arguably one of Saints’ most important players. Only Virgil Van Dijk (7.47) and Charlie Austin (7.14) have gained a better WhoScored rating than the Spanish midfielder (7.11) of all Saints players this term, further emphasising just how crucial he is in Puel’s side.
The way he covers ground in front of the Saints defence is a huge boost and means only Chelsea and Tottenham (both 10) have conceded more Premier League goals than the south coast side (12) this season. It’s seen Oriol make 75 tackles and interceptions combined in England’s top tier this term, a return bettered only by Idrissa Gueye (84) and N’Golo Kante (77). His influence in midfield helps ease pressure on the Saints backline and ensures they are able to shut out opponents when it’s required.
It’s vital, though, that a player in Romeu’s position is as capable of winning the ball back for his side as he is distributing possession, which he does effectively. Of players to make more than three league appearances this season, only Hojbjerg (89.1%) has a better pass success rate than Romeu (87.4%), with the latter averaging more passes per game (55) than any other Southampton player. While he hasn’t been drawing the plaudits in a similar vein to Van Dijk and Austin, the midfielder is undoubtedly one of Saints’ key men considering the role he plays and his effective performances in the middle of the park.
If the club are to progress to the latter stages of the Europa League and secure another European finish, Romeu will be vital for Puel’s side having been largely overlooked by Ronald Koeman. Saints have one of the more promising squads in the league and boast the attacking personnel to hurt any opponent. Yet for all their offensive quality, a midfield anchor is essential and Romeu carries out the duty with ruthless efficiency.
