Eyebrows were raised this summer following Southampton’s decision to loan out 22-year-old winger Josh Sims to New York Red Bulls.



Since arriving in 2012 (from Portsmouth’s academy), Sims had been regarded as one of Southampton’s bright young talents, progressing through both their under-18 and under-23 academy teams. Following a promising six-month loan deal at Reading in 2018-19, and then two impressive late-season performances against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers, many expected that 2019-20 would be the season for Sims to kick on and establish himself as a first-team option under Ralph Hasenhuttl.



The decision to send him out on loan again, therefore, had some worried about his progression. What happened to make a youth-focused manager such as Hasenhuttl take such drastic action?



Seven games and one assist in Major League Soccer later, all has become clear…



When considering Hasenhuttl’s managerial...