Puel should axe these 3 Southampton players in January

Alex McCarthy

Former England Under-21 international Alex McCarthy joined the Saints in the summer, but has yet to dislodge Fraser Forster as the club’s number one goalkeeper.

And he’s unlikely to any time soon, such is Forster’s good run of form, and the fact that McCarthy has been limited to just one start this season in their EFL Cup win over Crystal Palace.

Although he only signed in the summer, it might be worth the 26-year-old going out and looking for first team football.

He has once before been called up to the senior England squad and, if he still harbours ambitions of playing for his country, he needs to be playing regularly.

A loan spell away from the club in January may help him achieve that.