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Post by saintsfan73 on Jul 20, 2021 10:17:53 GMT
Interesting piece on Formerly of this Parish's favourite youth player:
Jake Hesketh said goodbye to Southampton after 17 years this summer.
After spending nearly three-quarters of his life as a player on the club’s books, it is time for the 25-year-old to enter the transfer window as a free agent and seek a new home to showcase his talent.
With every academy departure across professional football, questions are often raised as to whether the club let the player down or if they just weren’t good enough to compete at the level required.
The answer may be somewhere in the middle.
But for Hesketh, Southampton had always been his home. It’s the club he joined as a boy full of hope and left slightly bruised 17 years later, yet still harbouring optimism for what will come next.
“I’ve been expecting it (being released), so it’s not a surprise,” he tells The Athletic. “Even when you know it’s coming, it’s still weird because you know you aren’t coming back and it’s done.
“It’s all I’ve known. You can’t sign until you are in the under-9s, but my first training session was for the under-7s, so all I’ve known is playing football for Saints. I’ve never had anything else until I went on loan.”
Hesketh’s final day at Southampton coincided with the conclusion of his rehabilitation programme as he used the facilities at Staplewood, the club’s training campus, to recover from a hamstring injury.
After his final session, he had a chat with familiar faces before heading out the door for the last time.
“I had a meeting with Matt Hale (academy manager) and Danny Butterfield (loans manager),” Hesketh continued. “I sat there chatting to them for 15-20 minutes and they had got me a framed shirt which was a nice touch.
“The shirt had two pictures of when I scored against Crystal Palace and a little plaque thanking me for my efforts.”
In Ralph Hasenhuttl, Southamptonhave a coach who isn’t afraid to give youngsters an opportunity. Nathan Tella, Will Smallbone, Dan N’Lundulu can all attest to that.
For Hesketh, though, the chance to impress the Austrian wasn’t ever afforded to him. The 25-year-old didn’t train with the first team at all after Hasenhuttl took charge in December 2018.
Loan spells at Burton Albion, MK Dons, Lincoln City and Crawley Town meant he had to rely on pre-season being the time he would get to play in front of the manager. That opportunity, however, didn’t come.
“I had one conversation (with Hasenhuttl) when I came back from loan, and he didn’t know who I was,” Hesketh reveals. “I went in to find out what I’d be doing for the upcoming season and to see if I would get an opportunity to impress in pre-season.
“I wasn’t trying to force anything, but he said he’d get back to me. Kelv (Kelvin Davis) then called and said I’d be with the under-23s. I feel like I could have more opportunities, and I’m not saying I should be there playing every week. I’m probably not good enough, and I accept that.
“But there is an element of disappointment because I’d played a couple of times and got a goal, but it didn’t fall into place. If I’d gone on loan in the first year and done ridiculously well, I think I would have got the opportunity. But that’s on me.
“A chance to train in front of him would have been nice because I feel like the way he plays with the high press suits me perfectly. If he was the manager when I was 18, then maybe it would have developed in a different way.”
During his conversation with The Athletic, at no point does Hesketh come across as bitter about how it unfolded at Southampton. Instead, he cut a relaxed figure who was able to look back at the multiple times he was nearly released by the club, as well as the good times, and smile about it.
He recalls there being five moments he thought his time at St Mary’s would end prematurely as he worked his way through the youth ranks. The problem wasn’t with his ability with the ball at his feet. It was, by his own admission, because height wasn’t on his side.
Because of this, he would train with his age group but then play minutes for the year below. He points to being one of the last 16-year-olds in his squad to be handed a scholarship.
“In my first year of being a scholar, I didn’t play at all, really,” the creative player explains. “I played two or three league games. I played for the under-16s some Saturdays, where I’d play the first half and then come over and spend the second half with the under-18s, but I wouldn’t come on.
“There were 15-year-olds coming on ahead of me. I’d have arguments with coaches in training and lose my head because I found it really hard.”
The most nerve-wracking time, though, came when he sat outside with four other hopefuls waiting to find out whether they would be offered professional contracts.
After all, this is the moment he had been training for and dreaming of ever since he joined the under-7s.
“When it came to pro contracts, we all had meetings and had to wait in this room, and one by one people would get called out,” Hesketh recalls. “I was in a group of five, and they all came out and said they had been released. I went in and thought I was done, but then they said they didn’t know yet about me.
“That was the worst thing they could have said. They gave me six weeks and sent me to train with the under-21s at a higher level. We played six games, and I scored six or seven goals in that run. I got my first pro contract and then won scholar of the year on the same day.”
Fresh off the back of his award-winning evening in May 2014, the future looked bright for Hesketh.
Ronald Koeman arrived to replace Mauricio Pochettino that summer and eventually handed the teenager his first-team debut against Manchester United. It was a dream come true for Hesketh but made even more special by the fact the Old Trafford side were his boyhood club.
To make the moment that little bit more remarkable, it was also the first time Hesketh was named on the bench, so he certainly wasn’t expecting to get the nod to replace Dusan Tadic in the 70th minute.
“I remember Erwin (Ronald Koeman’s brother) turned around and said to go and get warm. I was sat next to Reedo (Harrison Reed), so he got up, but then Erwin said he meant me,” he explains. “I’ve gone out for a jog, clapped the fans and looked up at the clock.
“I remember thinking, ‘I can’t come on now against this lot — I was playing for the under-18s six months ago!’. He called me over to come on and just told me to go and play.
“The first thing that happened when I came on was Van Persie scored from a free-kick. But after my first touch, I just loved it. There is a photo of me trying to win a header against Marouane Fellaini.”
Despite the defeat, you sense Hesketh wasn’t going to let that get in the way of what was a day he’ll always remember.
And after the final whistle, he received the cherry on top.
“I didn’t know what to do after the game, but the United physio at the time was Matt Radcliffe, who used to work at Saints,” he adds. “When I was a scholar, I used to clean the physio room, and he battered me about towels for two years.
“He told me he’d grab me a shirt, and he came out with Van Persie’s. It’s in my wardrobe at the moment!”
But what of Koeman? What was it like playing for the club’s most successful manager in recent times?
“Everyone respected him. He would walk into a room, and everyone would shut up and listen to what he has to say,” says Hesketh. “He gave me my debut and started me the week after. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Despite handing him the opportunity, Hesketh struggled to force his way into the Dutchman’s plans during his two-year stay in the dugout and didn’t play again until Claude Puel turned up on the south coast in 2016.
The Frenchman was an advocate of putting his faith in youth, and Hesketh was one of several to benefit from that.
Puel’s arrival also coincided with the former scholar of the year entering the 12 months of his contract, something he started to grow anxious about at the time. After conversations with his agent, the duo thought a loan spell would be the best option to boost the number of league games he’d played.
But that move was blocked by Ross Wilson, Southampton’s former director of football operations, and Les Reed, the ex-vice-chairman.
They insisted Puel wanted to allow everyone to show up and earn a place in his matchday squad.
“I did pre-season and played for the under-23s, but I wasn’t really getting anywhere. An offer came in for me to go on loan, so my agent called Les and he said the gaffer wants me to stay, and that’s final,” Hesketh adds.
And the current Saint-Etienne manager was true to his word.
“I scored against Crystal Palace and played in the Europa League game against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.”
Although he picked up an injury during the 2016-17 campaign, Hesketh was rewarded with a new four-and-a-half-year contract in what was a clear show of faith in his potential.
“I would have been more than happy with two years, but the offer came through and it was four and a half,” he said, before adding: “I didn’t take much convincing (to sign it). I’d have been stupid to turn it down.”
But Puel only lasted one season in the job, finishing eighth and reaching the League Cup final, before he was sacked and replaced by Mauricio Pellegrino.
Asked whether a slew of managerial changes halted his progress, Hesketh said: “I think it had a negative impact on all the young players. I think that’s standard when a new manager first comes into the building because they want to rely on the experienced players they’ve got and bring their own players in.
“I look at some of the players, Tigs (Matt Targett) and Reedo (Harrison Reed), and they were playing every week in the Premier League last season. When managers come and go, it’s hard to trust young players.
“When Claude came in, he did that. Stepho (Jack Stephens) established himself that year, Sam McQueen played, Reedy played and Simsy (Josh Sims) broke through that year, I think.”
With Puel gone in 2018, Southampton worked their way through Pellegrino, Mark Hughes and on to Hasenhuttl in around 18 months.
Naturally, this was unsettling for the players trying to work their way into the first team manager’s plans, and Hesketh found himself leaving on loan in search of game time.
His foray into a new environment came when he was signed by Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough in 2018. Southampton fans will remember the goal he scored against Portsmouth, and it’s a game that will live long in the mind of the 25-year-old.
“I was getting battered the whole game,” he explains. “I was expecting a little boo here and there but thought it wouldn’t be that bad.
“I remember lining up in the tunnel, and one of the lads from Pompey knew who I was, and I heard their left-back say, ‘Which one is the Saints lad?’, and the guy I knew pointed at me, and the left-back added, ‘He looks like he’s fecking shitting himself’.
“I didn’t think I was but then thought, ‘Maybe I am’, I started doubting myself. I remember going over to take a throw-in, and a guy has stood up and said, ‘Stand up if you hate the scummer’. I tried to ignore it, but the whole stadium stood up and sang it!”
Hesketh labelled Clough “unbelievable” and praised his man-management skills, saying he “wouldn’t have a bad word to say about him” but suggested he is “less of a coach, more of a manager”.
Having spent the first half of the 2018-19 season on loan at Burton, he returned to Southampton in January 2019 before signing with MK Dons until May.
“It’s like your first day at school,” he says when asked what it’s like going from club to club. “The first day everyone is judging you, and they would be lying if they weren’t because I’ve done the same with other players.
“They are looking at you, and some will think, ‘He’s just a loan player, he’ll probably toss it off’. As soon as you start playing matches, it’s easier to settle in. At MK, I scored on my first start and then in the game after so people know you can be useful.”
His spell with MK turned out to be a successful one as they secured automatic promotion into League One, resulting in the squad being rewarded with a trip to Marbella.
He then spent the following two seasons away from Southampton, firstly at Lincoln (2019-20) and then with Crawley (2020-21).
After spending so long on the south coast before going out on loan, you’d expect Hesketh to have experienced a culture shock. Southampton’s training campus is state-of-the-art and has all the facilities needed to make players better.
“You don’t look at it and go, ‘fecking hell, this lot haven’t got a swimming pool or an ice bath’, you just turn up and train. It is a different world, but once you get on the pitch, you are doing the same thing,” he replied when asked what the transition was like.
“I’ve been to four good clubs who try and play, which definitely helps. But then, if someone booted it long, they wouldn’t sign me to win headers anyway. There are games where you have to fight and scrap, but I enjoy that part of it.
“Going out on loan the first time I played wide more. I’d played wide at different times while growing up, although traditionally I played as a 10. But where teams don’t play with a 10 so much in the lower leagues, being able to play out wide helped.
“The managers knew I wasn’t an out-and-out winger but encouraged me to drift in and get involved.”
Hesketh’s preferred position is as a No 10, trying to make things happen going forward for his team.
But his versatility enables him to be effective as a winger, which is a useful bow when it comes to being signed by another club. By his own admission, the No 10 role is a “dying art”.
He describes Mesut Ozil as being “ridiculous” in that role before Unai Emery joined Arsenal and didn’t want to play with the 2014 World Cup winner in the pocket behind the forwards. The point he’s making is that you need to be able to adapt to this situation.
Hesketh highlights Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne as someone who has been able to tweak their playing style and remain “one of the best midfielders in the world”.
“It’s helped me that I can play out wide, as a 10, or as a No 8,” the former Southampton player admits. “I think to play as a 10, you need more skills than you would to play as an out-and-out winger.
“But to come from out wide to play as a 10 is a different game because you are receiving the ball with your back facing the goal, and you have to turn and see everything.”
So, how is Hesketh looking to improve his game while listed as a free agent?
“I need to get stronger to avoid injuries, but I’ve been doing that over the last few months,” he answers. “I don’t need to be sat there doing bicep curls because that will only look good on the beach.
“Where I’ve been small my whole life, I know how to use my body and can get it in the way of people; I can draw fouls and things like that.”
Although Hesketh doesn’t know which club he’ll be turning out for at the start of next season, there is one thing you can almost guarantee: his salary is set to take a hit.
“My dad has drilled into me since I was younger to be sensible with money, so I’m not the person who thinks I need this and that,” he says when asked about taking a pay cut. “I just want to go and play football.
“I’ve had a conversation about it, and I know the money will be down for a couple of years, but if we pick the right club with the right manager, then all those things will come back in the future.”
Hesketh indicates that he hasn’t given the prospect of a reduced salary much thought other than those earlier discussions.
“In the grand scheme of life, what you earn as a lower league footballer is very good money. There is no knocking that,” he continues. “If someone offered you what a League One player was on as an office job, you wouldn’t say no.”
OK, then. If you aren’t concerned about taking a pay cut, what about losing your tag as a Premier League player?
“I’ve never seen myself as a Premier League player,” he quips. “I’ve played a couple of times, but I don’t think you can say that until you’ve played regularly. I can’t put a number on it, but it definitely isn’t two games.
“It’s sad in one sense, but it’s the chance of a new start. Going to find a new home instead of me bouncing between clubs will do me the world of good.”
After spending 17 years attached to one club, you could forgive the 25-year-old if he was suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The positive outlook seems authentic, and his thoughts have already turned to proving a point after last season and helping a team climb the EFL ladder.
Hesketh and his agent have already been in discussions with potential clubs and there appears to be a market for his services.
“I want to end up in the Championship,” he proclaims. “But I want to be joining a team that plays good football and is trying to get promoted. If that was in League Two, then all you need is two or three good seasons and you are in the Championship.”
There must be some concern about entering the market as a free agent, though?
“I’m really relaxed about it. I’m enjoying what I do day-to-day, and there is no point in me stressing about it,” he continues. “There isn’t anything I can do at the moment unless someone wants to see me on a trial.
“I’d say it’s the start of my career to a weird extent. I will see where it takes me. In one sense, people don’t start their career until after they are 25. What will be, will be.”
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