Unsung hero for Southampton: Oriol Romeu

When you’re being mentioned in the same breath at Marco Verratti, one of Europe’s premier midfielders, you know that you’re going about your business the right way.

Barcelona’s ambitious pursuit of Paris St Germain’s Italian maestro Verratti appears to have been scuppered by the French giants’ uncooperative attitude at the negotiating table and among the players thrown up as potential alternatives, up has cropped the name of a former La Masia graduate – Southampton’s Oriol Romeu.

Romeu’s evolution as a Premier League player has been a slow burner and when he arrived at Chelsea as a 19-year-old in August 2011, it was easy to pigeonhole his €5 million move as something of a punt.

(Matthew Ashton / Contributor)

He still managed 33 appearances in a blue shirt across the next two seasons but never really cemented himself as first-choice at Stamford Bridge and between 2013 and 2015, he was loaned out to Valencia and VfB Stuttgart.

Then, ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, the Spaniard moved to the Saints – then manged by Ronald Koeman, in what is surely the most important move of his career to date.

It has taken almost a further two seasons for Romeu’s worth to truly be appreciated but when it comes to analysing the former Spain youth international, it really is a blink-and-you-miss-it stuff.

That’s not to say that the 25-year-old is breathtakingly dynamic but more that what he brings to Southampton is subtle yet infinitely impactful.

Idrissa Gueye and the celebrated N’Golo Kante may have made the most tackles in the Premier League last term but lying third in the rankings was Romeu.

(Alex Broadway – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

He may not appear as mobile as a Gueye or a Kante but the Southampton is an expert at protecting his back four and making interception after interception – while Victor Wanyama has shone at Tottenham Hotspur, it’s little wonder his absence has been so keenly felt at St Mary’s.

Of course, Romeu’s impact has been recognised by his colleagues – he was named Southampton’s player of the year – and, even in speculative terms, the storied Catalan club where he learned his trade.

However, the Southampton midfielder is no flash in the pan. It shouldn’t have taken this long.