Ivan Juric namedrops 22-year-old to return to the lineup after a month's absence | OneFootball

Southampton's backup defender Nathan Wood could feature against Bournemouth. The 22-year-old ace has been given limited playing time which looks set to change for the better.

In football, many managers often develop a mutual chemistry with certain players. Sometimes, they end up working with a few of those selected players at multiple clubs as well.

One such duo has been Russell Martin and Nathan Wood. They spent a few high-flying seasons at Swansea before the former took charge of the Saints.

It could even be assumed that Martin must have influenced Wood's Southampton arrival. Yet, the towering centre back started getting Premier League opportunities during the final weeks of Martin's tenure.

Juric's incoming also saw Wood being relied upon as the starting defender. Fast forward to now and the latter is yet to play a single minute of top flight football in a month.

Considering Southampton needs some helping hands in the defence, Wood's continued remoteness hasn't impressed the fans.

Ivan Juric namedrops 22-year-old to return to the lineup after a month's absence

Thankfully, their voices seem to have been heard now. In the build up to tomorrow's Bournemouth clash, Juric assured to consider Wood as a starting alternative.

As quoted by the Daily Echo, Juric said: "At the moment we don't have one natural player there. And we have to find either Welington or Aribo or Wood like he did in the first two or three games."

Certainly, this comes as good news for Wood to attempt to cement his place in the backline. But before that, the English ace must forget his nightmare outing against Manchester United.

Apart from that, Wood must strive to forge good communication with Jan Bednarek. If you are wondering why, it's because James Bree has been unable to do that across a huge streak of fixtures.

Clearly, Saturday's home derby is a brilliant redemption chance for Nathan Wood. Will he manage to meet Ivan Juric's expectations, we will have to wait to find out.