Southampton have been handed a boost after Moussa Djenepo returned to training ahead of their clash with Aston Villa this weekend. The Saints have been without the winger due to a hamstring injury, but his comeback could be exactly what they need to counter Dean Smith's in-form side.

Whilst it will have Ralph Hasenhuttl delighted, it could be a warning signal for Nathan Redmond. His performances of late have been rather disappointing and his place in the team could come under siege. Now is not the time to take his foot off the gas or he risks losing out to a hungry-looking Djenepo.

The 22-year-old has already opened up his account for the season after his goal against West Brom. Redmond is yet to get off the mark, meaning it could be a tough battle for that left-wing role.

Redmond must follow Romeu

New signing Ibrahima Diallo has barely seen any of the action since he joined Southampton this summer. Playing the same role as Oriol Romeu, he has some stiff competition for game time under Hasenhuttl. The Spaniard has stood his ground and put the graft in this campaign, starting every Premier League match and even bagging himself a goal (via Transfermarkt).

Meanwhile, Diallo has been limited to a mere seven minutes of action across two cameo appearances so far. The impact of Romeu's hard work has made it impossible for the manager to drop him in favour of the new boy.

Redmond must follow suit with this if he wants to continue being one of the first names on the team sheet. His performance against Everton was poor, failing to register any shots on target and being dribbled past six times. He also lost the ball on 14 occasions, clearly struggling to face current league leaders Everton (via Sofascore).

Unless he improves on his performances, Hasenhuttl may opt to replace him with Djenepo for games against more attacking sides. The Saints are currently in fine form and they cannot afford to throw that away, especially with the nicely stacked squad they have at their disposal.

In other news, Southampton missed out on potential Che Adams upgrade in Darwin Nunez...