Kornelius Hansen has confirmed his departure from Southampton, with the new Stabaek midfielder telling VG that there was simply ‘no place’ for him in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team.
A 19-year-old attacking midfielder in the mould of compatriot Christian Eriksen, many a Saints fan might have hoped to see Hansen strut his stuff on the St Mary’s turf one day after some impressive performances for the U23 side in recent months.
But with his contract due to expire in July, the Scandinavian starlet is returning to Norway to sign for Stabaek instead.
Torgeir Bjarmann, Stabaek’s director of football, told the Daily Echo that his side had pulled off something of a coup by landing a player with ‘energy, speed and skill’.
While Hansen has no regrets about his decision to test himself in England, he felt that he had to walk away from his Premier League dreams with Hasenhuttl’s preferred tactical blueprint leaving no place for an orthodox ‘number ten’.
“There was probably no place for me to fight for the first team, because (Southampton) do not play with (a number ten) where I think I am at my best,” says Hansen, who has signed a two-year deal with Stabaek.
“My goal is still to play in the Premier League, but then it will be for a club where I am on the first team. Now, I’m done with youth football.”
Southampton rightly have a lot of pride in their academy, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Luke Shaw and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rising through the ranks at St Mary’s.
And while there has been a shortage of players making the step up from the reserves to the senior squad in recent times, that could change soon with Will Smallbone, Michael Obafemi and Jake Vokins catching Hasenhuttl’s eye.
