In an interview with The Daily Echo, former Southampton player Jimmy Case has praised recent fringe man Oriol Romeu and suggested that he should be a regular in the starting XI.

What's the word, then?

Well, Case was speaking to The Daily Echo ahead of the south coast outfit's derby clash against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, and he was quick to have his say on the former Chelsea midfielder.

Despite being a regular fixture in the side over the course of the past two seasons especially, the Spaniard's place has come under threat since manager Mark Hughes switched to more of a 4-4-2 formation, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mario Lemina his preferred partnership in the middle of the park.

The 27-year-old has only started three of their eight Premier League fixtures so far – with only one of those coming in the previous six outings – while he was even an unused substitute for the Carabao Cup win against Everton.

What has Case said?

Speaking to The Daily Echo, the 64-year-old said: "I like the boy Oriol Romeu, the way he gets about to win the ball and he also has that range of passing.

"I think Chelsea letting him go was a mistake and don't know why he wasn't on from the start against them last week."

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Is he right?

In a word; no.

While there is no doubt that Romeu does love to get about and win a tackle, when he has started this season he has often looked a little off the pace for whatever reason, and Lemina and Hojbjerg – the latter in particular – have deserved their spot in the XI and have subsequently formed an impressive relationship.

The comment about his quality on the ball is also a little controversial given it is questionable whether he really does have that range of passing in his locker, and unless Hughes is picking a three-man midfield right now then the Welshman is correct in not selecting Romeu.