COMMENT

DUSAN Tadic will be a massive loss to Southampton Football Club, a player they can ill afford to lose in current circumstances.

The 29-year-old could well be on the verge of a move to Dutch giants Ajax, with talks continuing over his future.

The Serbia international is a well-respected professional and someone who genuinely cares about the fortunes of Saints.

Of course, he’s had his inconsistencies but he still was Saints’ most productive player last season, with seven goals and four assists.

The St Mary’s dressing room has been a difficult place in the last two seasons, with some players appearing far from devoted to the Saints cause.

Deep in relegation trouble last season, Sofiane Boufal threatened to derail the work Mark Hughes was trying to do to get the club out of the drop zone by, allegedly, having a bust-up with the Welsh boss.

While Tadic was on-field battling, Boufal was banished to train with the under-23s.

Then there was Virgil van Dijk earlier in the campaign, trying his best to get out the club – you didn’t see Tadic go on strike to worm his way out.

Yes, Tadic has perennially been linked every summer with a move away and, perhaps, had a genuine offer ever come in he would have moved.

But the fact of the matter is, once Tadic had signed up for another season – and it was clear a switch wasn’t going to happen – his heart and fight was at Saints.

Always professional and willing to speak up after a defeat, Tadic really cared and is the kind of player Saints seriously need to dilute the number of players who could be considered mercenaries, only at the club to look for the next move up the ladder.

It really hit home for me after Saints’ desperately painful 3-0 loss at West Ham last season – it was a point at which Saints looked doomed to be relegated.

Most players kept their hoods up and their heads down when walking through the mixed zone – the interview area for players at Premier League stadiums.

But a clearly devastated Tadic walked through the mixed zone at the London Stadium and stopped.

“It’s very hard to talk. We feel ashamed. We lost 3-0. It’s a very bad feeling and we have to take responsibility. It’s just our mistakes, all of the players. It’s not the mistake of somebody else, it’s just our mistake,” he told the Daily Echo.

“We need to be men, we need to take responsibility and to know what kind of situation we are in. We are in a tough situation.

“I’ve been here when we had the best results of all time for Southampton and personally I feel very ashamed and it’s a very tough moment.”

He added, “We need to be men and we need to show our balls. It’s simple, we need to be there.”

Tadic was genuinely hurt by the result, he was ready to take responsibility and that’s why he was one of the main reasons why Saints stayed in the Premier League last term.

A player like him is valuable on and off the field.

Tadic was at his best with Graziano Pelle upfront, a tall, powerful striker who could hold up the ball and was the ideal target for the Serb’s passing game.

Since the Italian’s departure, there hasn’t been such a figurehead at the front of Saints’ attack, which has clearly hampered his ability to collect assists like he did in his early days.

On his day, Tadic is brilliant and a top pro. He will be sorely missed if his move to Ajax goes through.