?It’s been quite a year for Southampton’s young centre back Jack Stephens, who has had to mature and adapt quickly to Premier League football, having been trusted by manager Claude Puel to replace the injured Virgil van Dijk in the latter half of this past season.
Speaking to ?Southampton’s official website, Stephens attributes his successful integration to his experienced defensive partner Maya Yoshida.
“It takes time to form a partnership with anyone,” Stephens started.
“But I think me and Maya have started to perform very well together. Over the last two or three months it has got a lot more solid.
“To come into a team that was quite settled was difficult to start with, but Maya has been fantastic for me, as has Cédric. All of the boys have been brilliant and I am very grateful for that.”
Stephens has enjoyed a fantastic 2017 since replacing Van Dijk in mid-January at the heart of the Saints’ defence.
Making his Premier League debut, playing a key role in Southampton’s path to the EFL Cup Final this season and even scoring a last minute winner for the England U21s – at St Mary’s where Southampton play.
When asked by the club site to pick his favourite moment of his season, the young Englishman struggled to find one stand-out moment.
“It’s difficult to pick one,” he continued.
“I would probably say the Liverpool semi-final game, though. It was my first big game this season and there was a lot of pressure on all of us.
“Not just me, but the whole team as well. It was a great moment for everyone to pick up that result and get through to the final.”
Stephens’ season is not over quite yet either, as he will be hoping to be selected by England Under 21s manager Aidy Boothroyd for the Under 21s European Championships, set to begin next month.
England will play Sweden (June 16), Slovakia (19 June) and hosts Poland (22 June) in the groups, with the hope of reaching the final on the 30th.
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