JACK STEPHENS is set to sign a new four-year contract at Southampton.
The defender, 26, has agreed in principle the new terms and Saints are hopeful he will put pen to paper soon.
Jack Stephens could become the latest Southampton player to secure his futureCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Stephens is approaching 100 Premier League games for the St Mary’s outfit after arriving from Plymouth in 2011.
Ralph Hasenhuttl remains keen on bringing in a new central midfielder to replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who left for Tottenham earlier this summer.
Reinforcements are being monitored after Saints failed to score in two defeats to open the new season.
After a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday, the club crashed out of the Carabao Cup after Brentford beat a full-strength side in midweek.
Stephens played the full 90 minutes in both games and will follow James Ward-Prowse in signing a new deal.
Saints captain Ward-Prowse put pen to paper on a five-year renewal of his own earlier in the summer.
Cornwall-born Stephens spent time on loan at Swindon, Middlesbrough and Coventry before getting his chance on the South Coast.
A breakthrough run of games in 2016/17 began his rise to Hasenhuttl’s first-choice centre-back yet he stated in June that he has faced many critics.
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Stephens told The Guardian: “I had that fire in me that I wanted to prove people wrong.
“I’d been written off, felt a little bit hard done by but I knew it was only me that was going to turn it round.
“It was a real tough time – not being in the team and sometimes not even being in the squad – and there was a big part of me that was desperate to show that I was good enough to get back in.”
Southampton leading race to seal £5.5m transfer for ex-Arsenal star Danny Welbeck after Watford’s relegation
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
