An international break - again. The third so far this season. Thankfully, now this one is over the action is non-stop until the middle of March. That doesn’t mean there isn’t international football taking place. Two inter-continental championships take place in January but the English domestic game carries on. Sides such as Southampton will need to adapt accordingly.
These competitions are the AFC Asian Cup & the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) with the latter having an impact on Southampton.
Joe Aribo and Kamaldeen Sulemana were both called up by their respective nations (Nigeria & Ghana) for this international break for World Cup 2026 qualifiers, these are the last squads before the tournament in the new year. Barring any injuries these two should make the cut.
After originally being selected, Kamaldeen did withdraw from the Ghana squad for their qualifies against Madagascar and Comoros. I imagine he may not pull out of the final AFCON squad.
AFCON takes place from January 13th to February 11th in this period Southampton face; Sheffield Wednesday (H), Swansea (A), Hull City (H) or a potential FA Cup 4th round match however given the Carabao Cup attempt this season let’s stick with the assumption it’ll be Hull, Rotherham (A) and Huddersfield (H). Bristol City (A) only is two days after the AFCON final so should Ghana/Nigeria be involved in this then this game is also a right off.
That’s potentially six games without two first team players. This begs two questions; will Saints miss them? and what are the alternatives?
Kamaldeen has featured in all 11 games since overcoming his early season injury. In Southampton’s unbeaten 8 game run Kamaldeen has started all but one (Preston) continuously causing nightmares for defenders. With 3 assists and no goals Kamaldeen, statistically, isn’t setting the Championship alight however he certainly passes the ‘eye test.’ There’s a palpable sense of excitement amongst Southampton fans and fear from the opposition when he gets the ball. The Ghanaian international averages 5.1 successful dribbles per 90 the most of any Southampton player. A nice metric to reinforce the notion that Kamaldeen gets fans out of their seats as he takes the game to opponents.
Undoubtedly he’ll be missed.
In contrast Aribo, as it stands, will be a less noticeable absentee. Managing just 147 minutes this season across 11 matches culminating in zero goal contributions. In fairness to Aribo he has only featured in dribs and drabs, only one start in an underwhelming team performance against Ipswich. The lack of goal return is unsurprising. With 4 big chances created in these 147 minutes Aribo theoretically creates a chances every 37 minutes oddly this is a better rate than Kamaldeen - generating a chance every 61 minutes - granted Aribo’s sample size is much smaller. The small sample size though does suggest that as an option of the bench Aribo is capable of helping the team create goalscoring opportunities.
Undoubtedly he won’t be missed as much as Kamaldeen however for the Championship Aribo is an adequate squad player.
With regard to the alternatives Southampton will need to replace the wide left forward and an attacking option off the bench. The former is the easier place to start.
A common tactical switch throughout games this season has been the introduction of Ryan Fraser as a substitute. The Scot has goal involvements in each of the last five matches coming off the bench. He would be the obvious beneficiary in Kamaldeen’s absence. Although let’s not discount Samuel Edozie who impressed in the early matches of the season however the youngster lacks a little defensive solidity that Fraser provides - I.e Preston’s second goal. Alternatively Alcaraz is often deployed in wide roles, the prospect of a front three of Charly, Stewart & Adam Armstrong is mouthwatering.
Replacing Kamaldeen is a starting XI issue whereas replacing Aribo is more of a seating plan dilemma for the subs bench. Perhaps Kamari Doyle may benefit from the available seat, Doyle the most obvious like for like replacement of the youngsters at RM’s disposal. In reality the Aribo conundrum is not really a priority but fun to speculate nevertheless.
If a 46 game season doesn’t provide enough selection dilemmas with the Saturday/Tuesday turnarounds then the departure of two first team players in January will certainly add another complexity for RM to mull over. A problem not in the immediate future thankfully.
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