Southampton must sell a failed player who earns more than Walker-Peters & Fernandes

Ivan Jurić could not turn around Southampton a sinking ship since his arrival on the south coast at the end of December, as the Saints stare a horrendous relegation in the face.

The Premier League the table doesn’t lie with Southampton at the very bottom of the pile currently sitting on just six points, with an alarming ten point gap already opening up between the club from the bottom of the division and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th position.

Although survival seems to be the big issue, there are a few faces in Jurić’s camp who will continue to hold their heads high like bright sparks in these dark times.

Southampton’s best players this season

One of those faces is Mateus Fernandes, who looked lively for his humble side even as games slipped away from them.

He was the standout performer during Southampton’s recent 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford three shots were added to Andre Onana’s wobbly goal with two successful dribbles registered, while the promising Portuguese midfielder also assisted Paulo Onuachu for a late header away at Nottingham Forest last time out as Saints came alive from the death.

Away from the Saints number 18, there is also occasionally brilliant young product Tyler Dibling in the attack who managed to pick up two goals in the Premier Leaguewhile Kyle Walker-Peters also threatened to return to his prime.

Even in a Southampton team that mustered just a measly 15 top-class forwards, Walker-Peters still collected two assistswith the number of clubs allegedly circling for his services now in the middle of talks he will refuse any contract extension that is proposed to him.

Juric will be hoping he can keep the 5ft 8 full-backs tight this month – far from all this speculation – but the Croatian is unlikely to struggle too much to keep another defender, quite the opposite.

The latest on Charlie Taylor’s Southampton future

According to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas Earlier this month, Charlie Taylor is one figure Juric will try to offload this January, with other names on Thomas’ list looking to leave St Mary’s including Maxwel Cornet and Ben Brereton Diaz, with the latter now on loan at Sheffield United.

So Taylor could be the next fringe presence to be moved, given he has barely featured for the south coast side this season after moving to newly promoted Burnley last window.

Indeed, the former Clarets man has only just begun twice for his side doomed to relegation in the Premier League, with his last league appearance coming on at half-time, only for the Saints to be beaten 5-0 by Brentford.

While he is by no means the only one to blame for the poor results when you consider Southampton’s rock-bottom status, his high wages will also be another major factor in why there is an increased desire to get him off the books this January.

Looking at the table above, apart from his poor defensive numbers, Taylor also surprisingly earns a hefty £30k-a-week salary, meaning he earns more than the aforementioned Walker-Peters and Fernandes.

The far smarter pair both earn £20k-a-week away from Taylor’s lofty earnings, with the Saints defender’s annual wage bill sitting at £1.5m despite such a lack of game time.

So it makes a lot of sense why Southampton want to get rid of the 31-year-old defender this month, while Jurić is trying everything in his power to lift his spirits and try to build some positive form.