On Wednesday evening Southampton made the trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl made one significant change to the starting lineup for the game (even though he made eight) – he brought in summer signing Angus Gunn for his first appearance between the sticks since he replaced Mark Hughes as gaffer.
The game was also the 22-year-old’s Premier League debut for us following his arrival from Manchester City for a reported £10million over the summer.
Despite the hosts dominating possession and chances across the 90 minutes, Gunn more than played his part in helping us to a clean sheet and a solid point on the day as we put back to back defeats behind us.
Speaking to Sky Sports as he met with the media following the performance, Hasenhuttl felt that Gunn hadn’t put a foot wrong and he’d certainly given him something to think about.
“The main thing is the first clean sheet since I came here, that is maybe also because Gunn was in goal for the first time and he did a fantastic job. He was as brave as we wanted him to be because he was defending forward and we spoke about the chipped balls behind the last row and it was important that he was always on line and trying to be defending forward. I am very happy with him. It was important for me to see what we had in the goalkeeper position and that was an amazing step for him.”
It will certainly bolster competition in the goalkeeping department and help keep Alex McCarthy on his toes and also provides some protection from our point of view, given the rumours that have already begun circulating about his future.
