Aston Villa loanee Jan Bednarek could potentially be recalled by Southampton this month after the latest comments from their boss Nathan Jones.
The 26-year-old joined us on a season-long loan deal last summer, but has been limited to just seven appearances across all competitions so far this year in a bit-part role.
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As he continues to provide depth behind first-choice centre-half pairing Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings, he’s likely to fall further down the pecking order when Diego Carlos returns from injury next month and so it could be argued that Villa should look to cut short his stint with us anyway if he doesn’t fit into Unai Emery’s plans.
However, as reported by BirminghamLive, Southampton boss Jones has now revealed that he has spoken to the players currently out on loan from the club, including Bednarek, and he has left the door open to recalling the Polish international if he feels as though it would strengthen his squad for the remainder of the campaign.
“I’ve spoken to everyone who is on loan here, whether that’s Jack Stephens (AFC Bournemouth), Jan Bednarek, Nathan Tella (Burnley), Will Smallbone (Stoke City), everyone who is out on loan I have spoken to.
“We know what we want to do and what’s the plan for those, and if something we feel can strengthen us via a recall or whatever it is then fine, we will do that. It’s just about making sure we are stronger on the first of February than we were on the first of January.”
Given his limited minutes, if his loan spell was to end early, it would arguably make sense for us too. That said, if his departure would mean we need to look for a replacement to fill the void before the January transfer window deadline, then perhaps that’s an issue that Emery would rather do without until the summer.
The Villa boss would still have Calum Chambers available to him until Carlos returns to provide an option on the bench, but time will tell if Southampton force that issue on us or if we stay as we are until the end of the season and reassess the situation then.
Bednarek does add experience and physicality to the squad, but with Emery openly revealing this week he has spoken to the likes of Morgan Sanson, Marvelous Nakamba and Ludwig Augustinsson about leaving this month, it’s fair to say that he is clear on who does and who doesn’t form part of his plans and so we’ll act decisively moving forward when building his preferred squad.
