Ralph Hasenhuttl admits goalkeeper Fraser Forster has given him a selection headache after his performance at Chelsea on Tuesday. Speaking ahead of the match,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “Yeah, yeah, not only him but a lot of players are giving me a headache. This is how it should be. We must a little bit look at how much they invested on Tuesday, for sure it is not a disadvantage when you have a few fresh players every weekend for the game. It would be a good decision to make for me but not the easiest one, this is less of a headache than when you don’t have any players left though, that is something I don’t want again.”
Forster has played in all three of Saints’ EFL Cup games but following elimination they will only be involved in Premier League action until January. The six-foot seven ex-Celtic stopper made a number of sharp saves to keep Blues at bay during the 90 minutes of the 1-1 draw, including preventing the likes of Kai Havertz from getting a late winner with one-on-one opportunities. Forster then followed that up with a save from Mason Mount in the penalty shootout, but it was not enough to prevent the home side from taking the 4-3 win and progressing to the quarter final of the EFL Cup. Alex McCarthy has started every game of the Premier League season so far, keeping his first two clean sheets of 2021 in consecutive 0-0 draws with West Ham and Manchester City last month. But Hasenhuttl admitted that the performance of Forster, among others, is difficult to ignore.
Both goalkeepers’ contracts are set to expire at the end of this campaign, but 31-year-old McCarthy is expected to see a new deal signed in the coming months while Forster could leave the club. It is expected that Saints will search for a new goalkeeper to bring in on a permanent basis, but whether that could be one that is a first-team starter or provides competition to McCarthy is yet to be seen. Forster’s last Premier League game came for Saints in a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace back in May, while his last shutout was also Saints’ last away clean sheet during a 2-0 victory over relegated Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
