Jack Stephens contract ended a few days ago and with the trimming of the squad there has been much speculation as to whether he would be leaving on a free, but now we have the answer he has been given a 3 year extension.
The news that Captain Jack has been given a new contract on BBC Sport will not come as a complete surprise to most Southampton fans, but the length of it will be.
Two years ago aged 29 he was only given a two year deal and now at age 31 he has been given a contract that will carry him way past his 34th birthday.
Since he signed that contract in the summer of 2023 although he became Russell Martin's Captain, he has not exactly been a regular, in our Promotion year out of 46 regular season games he started just 17 plus another 6 off the bench, with injury, suspension and being on the bench accounting for the other 23 games he could have played, although in fairness he played a good part in all 3 of the play off games.
Last season was a similar return for Jack in the Premier League, 17 starts plus 2 off the bench, making it again another season where he was involved in just half the games possible.
This has been the case in most season for Jack at the club,, since making his League debut in January 2017, in 8 1/2 seasons he has managed just 143 League appearances plus 21 games off the bench a total of 164 games in total, if we take out the season he spent on loan at Bournemouth, he averages around 19 games a season.
That is not a figure that suggests that he is a first team regular.
But this is not the main factor, first is that we have given a 3 year contract to a 31 year old, yes perhaps it will be on drastically reduced wages, but it is hard to see where he will get in the team next season, let alone the following if we were to be promoted back to the Premier League.
It is not so much the fact that we have given him a contract, but the actual length of it, if we had given him a years extension, I could have understood it, even defended it to those who disagreed, but 3 years is just plain daft.
The there is the fact that we are overloaded in the central defensive department to start with, we need to offload players here, at a rough count including Jack, we have 9 recognised central defenders, plus a couple of others that can play in that position.
"Jack has been an important figure for the club on and off the pitch over many years," technical director Johannes Spors has said.
"We value both the quality and leadership that he brings and we see him continuing to be an influential part of the squad moving forward, so we're pleased to have reached this agreement to extend his long association with Southampton."
I can appreciate those words Jack Stephens has been a big part of this club in the past 8 years, i have been a critic of Jack over the years, but not an abuser of him, I judge him only in terms of his ability to be a first choice player in the defence, not as a squad member, this is professional football there is no room for sentiment.
I do think that Jack can play a part in the coming season, but not a part that is deserving of a 3 year contract.
I truly hope that come May 2026, I have to eat my words.