Ronald Koeman admits he has a number of factors to weigh up before deciding who will replace Victor Wanyama for the trip to Sunderland.

The Kenyan midfielder is a lynchpin of the Saints side but will miss the game at the Stadium of Light through suspension after picking up two late yellow cards in the win over Bournemouth.

Jordy Clasie and Oriol Romeu are the obvious picks for the central midfield roles, but Koeman can also call upon the likes of Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse and Harrison Reed, giving him much food for thought.

Koeman said: “It’s a miss because he’s always starting normally and that means he is an important player for the team.

“In his defending on the midfield position, he play a long time now for Southampton, he’s one of the key players and I said before we have enough competition in the squad to replace Victor Wanyama this weekend.

“First of all we don’t have a similar player as Victor because Victor is the most strongest, the most physical of all the midfield players.

“It’s a different type of player to replace Victor, and then the question is what you need in the game, a more defending midfield player or a more offensive midfield player.”

Saints will still be without Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long, with the former continuing to suffer with pains in his feet and the latter suffering a minor setback in training.

However, both are expected to be available for selection again after the international break.

“No, and also nobody coming back,” reported Koeman. “Shane and Jay are still out.

“Shane was close to be back and did some training yesterday with the team but still not 100 per cent and he needs to be 100 per cent to be part of the squad and he’s not involved at the weekend.

“The same players, maybe the same team, without Wanyama.”