Southampton centre-back Maya Yoshida has become a key figure for the club this season following the departure of Jose Fonte to West Ham during the January transfer window, and an injury picked up by Virgil van Dijk in the same month.

The Japan international joined the Saints from Dutch side VVV-Venlo in 2012, and has since gone on to make 125 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring six goals.

However, while the south coast outfit have been dishing out new long-term deals to the likes of Cedric Soares, Oriol Romeu, Ryan Bertrand and Virgil van Dijk in recent times, one player that hasn’t got one is Yoshida.

That may be something of a surprise to some people considering his deal at St Mary’s is due to run out next summer, and it will be interesting to see if Saints look to extend the 28-year-old’s contract in the near future.

Here are three reasons Southampton must hand Yoshida a new deal…

Loyalty

With the club just being promoted to the Premier League, Maya Yoshida would have hoped that he could have nailed down a regular spot in the Saints backline when he moved to St Mary’s in 2012.

Despite that being the case in his debut season with the club, it hasn’t quite turned out like that for the Japan international in the following campaigns.

The arrival of the likes of Dejan Lovren, Toby Alderweireld and Virgil van Dijk – as well as the form of former captain Jose Fonte – has meant that the 28-year-old has often found himself on the substitutes’ bench, but he has never moaned.

Patience

While first team appearances may have been limited in recent seasons, Yoshida’s patience has often been rewarded when he has been given an opportunity.

Following the departure of the unsettled Fonte and the injury suffered by new skipper Van Dijk in January, the Japanese centre-back knew that he had to step up alongside the relatively inexperienced Jack Stephens at the heart of the defence, and he has done exactly that.

While he has understandably been shaky at times in previous campaigns, the 28-year-old looks to be a more solid defender and has become more of a leader this term – perhaps that is because of vote of confidence that he has received from manager Claude Puel.

Experience if Van Dijk goes

With former captain Jose Fonte already gone and current skipper Virgil van Dijk continuing to be linked with a £50m move to Chelsea, Southampton could find themselves short of experienced centre-backs this summer.

Short-term signing Martin Caceres’ future is also uncertain, which means that Yoshida could easily find himself as the main man at the back during the early stages of pre-season.

If that is the case, the club will surely want to tie him down to a new deal to at least have some continuity in what could be a much-changed backline again next term.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.