SAINTS HIT POTTERS’ HOPES

On-loan midfielder Smallbone set to be given opportunity to shine for his parent club

SOUTHAMPTON manager Ruben Selles has put a spanner in the works of Stoke City trying to keep Will Smallbone by insisting the player deserves a chance at his parent club.

Smallbone, aged 23, has enjoyed his first season of regular senior football on loan at Stoke, growing into influential form in the last couple of months in particular – and capped by a man-of-the-match performance when he made his debut for Republic of Ireland in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Latvia.

Alex Neil is not the manager who signed him for Stoke City, but he has gone on record about being a big fan – and no one has appeared in more games this season for the Potters.

Selles, however, was impressed with Smallbone in pre-season last summer before the loan was sanctioned, and now he has been promoted to manager he would like to run the rule over him again.

“Will has been doing really good in Stoke and had a good pre-season with us before he went,” he said.

“As I said, I always like when the player has the feeling of the club at his core. Will is a Southampton boy and has been really working well here.

“He is growing, but let’s see as I don’t lose one second to think about next season, but Will is a Southampton player and he deserves a chance.

“He also is integrated into the system, the high pressing, in the medium block. I think he has everything to be successful at Southampton.”

Smallbone has been a key figure triggering the press in attacking midfield under Neil and it is no surprise that he has the highest running stats at the club.

He has taken on responsibility for set pieces since captain Lewis Baker lost his automatic starting place and chipped in with a hat-trick of assists in a 5-1 Championship romp at Sunderland this month.

Performances like that earned him a call-up to Ireland’s senior squad – he grew up in Basingstoke but his mother comes from Kilkenny – and he set up the early goal for Callum O’dowda during Wednesday night’s friendly in Dublin.

It stakes his case to be included from the start for a Euros qualifier against France on Monday.

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny said: “I’ve watched a good bit of Stoke City recently over the last few weeks. I’ve been so impressed with the way he has kicked on himself.

“He was a good player early in the season in some games, quiet in others. He was quiet within games at times, good moments but not dominant.

“He has had a great spell, really added other aspects to his game. He has come on a lot. He has given us something to think about, certainly.

“He gives us another option (against France).

“We’re going to have to wait and see on that, how everyone comes through (the Latvia game).

“We have two players that we kept fresh in Josh

Cullen, who does that holding midfield job really well, and Jason Knight.

“We kept them fresh so they will come into consideration also.”