Three things we learnt from Southampton’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham

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Virgil Van Dijk needs to return… and fast

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With Jose Fonte now plying his trade with Southampton’s most recent opponents, Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens were the two chosen centre-backs for this game – and their inexperience as a partnership was shown up regularly. This was epitomised by West Ham’s third goal. Southampton players surrounded Forster and gave him no breathing room whilst the pair were unable to organise the defence adequately, thus leading to a deflected goal. Virgil Van Dijk has arguably been Southampton’s best player this season and his attacking presence and defensive capabilities have been the cornerstone of a well-drilled Saints side. Claude Puel will be praying that the Dutch centre-back’s injury heals up quickly in order to add stability to a fragile defence.