The arrival of Oriol Romeu as
Southampton's seventh summer additionwas warmly received by supporters as another whirlwind summer hurtles to an end at St Mary's. But is the signing of the Spaniard the latest example the club are being forced to move away from their "Best of British" policy?
Before his
ill-tempered departure in January 2014, former chairman Nicola Cortese had a long-term vision of following in Barcelona's footsteps by sending out a first-team made up of 50 percent of home-grown players, and Saints have been
widely applauded for the way they have promoted from their fertile youth academy into the senior side.
When Southampton took on Everton in Mauricio Pochettino's first game as manager in January 2013, he named five Englishman in a starting XI, which also included Morgan Schneiderlin, who despite his French roots would count as a home-grown player under Premier League regulations having moved across the Channel as an 18-year-old.
But when the two sides renew acquaintances on Saturday, it is likely nine of Saints' line-up will hail from foreign shores, with only Matt Targett and Jay Rodriguez preventing manager Ronald Koeman from naming a team made up entirely of overseas players for what would be the first time in the club's history.
Targett has been hailed by Saints' executive director of football Les Reed as a beacon for the youth set-up, which is envied by clubs all over the world, but it is unlikely that the talented left-back and lifelong Southampton fan will be able to hold down a regular starting spot once Ryan Bertrand -- like Romeu, rescued from the Chelsea wilderness -- returns to full fitness.
Under Pochettino, Sam Gallagher followed in the footsteps of England legend Alan Shearer by making his full Premier League debut against Arsenal, but the raw 19-year-old has now been sent out on a season-long loan to Championship newcomers' Milton Keynes Dons.
Many Southampton fans hoped Schneiderlin's big-money move to Manchester United would pave the way for Harrison Reed to stake his claim for more first-team football, but the Paul Scholes lookalike could be the main loser from the capture of Romeu.
Even James Ward-Prowse, billed as the new David Beckham for his lethal dead-ball skills, could find himself getting saddle sore on the substitutes' bench with the always improving Victor Wanyama, Netherlands midfielder Jordy Clasie, Koeman favourite Steven Davis and now Romeu all likely to be ahead of the Hampshire-born England under-21 captain in the pecking order.
In fairness to Saints, it is not their responsibility to solve the Football Association's quandary of why there are a lack of English players in the Premier League -- only 73 of the 220 starters from the 10 opening weekend games were English -- but their summer recruitment policy could be interpreted as a worrying reflection of the future of English players.
Tim Sherwood, the Aston Villa manager, was not wrong when he
told reporters that clubs were being priced out of buying British. To nab talented full-back Cedric Soares from Sporting Lisbon, Saints paid less than half of the £8 million neighbours and Premier League new-boys Bournemouth lavished on another full-back Tyrone Mings, despite Mings having never played above the second tier.
Southampton themselves have benefited from the additional levy imposed on players simply by virtue of being born under the flag of St George by raking in fees in excess of £20m for Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana, both of whom are yet to justify their price tag with their performances for Manchester United and Liverpool, respectively.
As long as Reed is in a position of power, Saints will not be allowed to neglect their policy of giving young British talent a chance, but there is no doubt it is becoming harder for the club to flourish the 'Southampton Way.'
http://www.espnfc.co.uk/club/southa...romeu-arrival-raises-questions-at-southampton