JOSE Fonte has earned the right to play against Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final first leg tonight at St Mary’s.

And Claude Puel should play him.

The Saints captain has been through it all at St Mary’s.

He dropped a league from Crystal Palace to join Saints. He swapped the Championship for League One.

He helped the club to promotions all the way to the Premier League, and then into Europe.

Fonte has been a colossus, a proud captain. He has been the one constant amid departures of players and managers.

He’s loved by the fans, and remains so for the most part, despite his potential departure in this month’s transfer window.

In that respect he deserves – for his services alone – to be given the chance in what is the biggest game of the season so far.

That’s just one romanticised case for his selection.

But there’s more.

This wrangle over his future may be disruptive, and it may be troubling performances more than we know.

Fonte is undoubtedly a huge character in the dressing room. His stature has risen with the club, and he commands massive respect from his team-mates.

But, while we can only speculate on the affects all this has away from the pitch, we can note several other things that argue Fonte’s case to be selected tonight.

Despite being unsettled for most of the season – with his contract debacle rumbling on since the summer – Fonte has kept typically professional.

His performance levels have not wavered either. His formidable partnership with Virgil van Dijk has blossomed even further this campaign.

He’s now 33 years old but, as Fonte revealed just before the end of last season – in an interview with the Daily Echo - “I feel like I have my best years in front of me.”

At his age there are inevitable natural restrictions on how much you can exert yourself, but he remained adamant that he’s ready for any challenge.

“I want to play every game,” he said last month.

“I’m fit to play every game. I’m always on the dance floor. I’m always fit.”

He’s never shown the mindset of a troubled player on the pitch, so unless there has been a dramatic change in his mentality Fonte will be up for playing against Liverpool.

On top of that, he’s still proving he deserves to be first choice alongside Van Dijk.

And on that basis alone he remains – discounting all the discontent – part of Saints’ best starting 11.

When facing Liverpool in the semi-final of the League Cup, surely you want your best team out?

No matter the context, Fonte offers the best option.

His leadership is a powerful asset. He’ll know more than anyone the scale of this game for the club.

In that regard it seems logical to play him.

The result from tonight’s game will be the thing that is remembered.

It will be whether or not Saints took another step toward their first piece of major silverware in 41 years, not the team selection.

The decision could easily backfire on Puel.

He is not exactly Mr Popular with fans, but getting to a Wembley final in his first season would help change that.

A heavy defeat to Liverpool tonight would basically put them out of the League Cup – even before the second leg is played – and bring an end to much of the purpose to this season, little past the half-way stage.

That would look terrible on Puel.

There would be questions asked over why Fonte was not selected for this biggest game of the season.

If Puel believes that Fonte can’t play because of the doubts over his future, so be it.

The St Mary’s chief rarely deviates from what he believes, even when it seems circumstances should dictate otherwise.

He stood firm over his selections in the Europa League, which backfired.

And Puel may end up shooting himself in the foot again because of this decision.

He’s taken sentimental reasons out of his decision. However, he may well also have discounted footballing reasons for not playing Fonte.

If a Wembley final comes after “stability” and managing “a difficult situation during the market” in Puel’s list of priorities, then he’ll be have to face the consequences if it goes pear-shaped.