Southampton: Saints showing interest in Leipzig duo

According to reports, Southampton have shown interest in raiding their manager’s former club and bringing in two players from the German Bundesliga.

The two players are striker Jean-Kevin Augustin (as reported by the Sun which you can read here) and the other is Captain Willi Orban (reported by the daily mail and you can read that here).

Now, let us take a closer look at each of the players and why or why not they would be a good fit for the Saints.

Jean-Kevin Augustin

The 21-year-old striker has fallen out of favor for the German side and is keen to make a move to resume playing first team football again. Last season, he scored 12 goals and had a fantastic partnership with teammate Timo Werner.

Would the young French striker work at Southampton? Absolutely. He has a ton of pace and has shown he can finish when in front of net. Not only can he score but he is a solid passer of the ball as he collected 6 assists last season to go with his 12 goals (according to Whoscored.com).

Hasenhuttl, has stated time and again the squad needs pace and youth that he can develop. Augustin, fits that description perfectly and the Saints would be lucky to land him. They face competition for his signature in the form of Everton and Wolverhampton.

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• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
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• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

On top of that, Hasenhuttl’s former team are supposedly asking a heavy price in the neighborhood of £38million. I do not see them pulling the trigger for that much money in January but hopefully he is still available in the summer and they can make a move then

Willi Orban

Now we turn out attention to the Captain of the German side, the 26-year-old, Orban. He first got the Captain’s armband from Hasenhuttl himself. Many fans have called for more quality and depth to be added to the backline and the Hungarian would provide just that.

His defensive numbers are solid to say the least. In ten league appearances this season he averages 2 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, and 5.4 clearances (stats according to Whoscored.com).

With Wesley Hoedt told he is free to find a new club that opens up the door for someone like Orban to be brought in. I think he would be a solid signing as well and clearly someone Hasenhuttl has trust in.

The end of January and the window is getting closer and closer and I expect the Saints to sign at least one player before it closes but would not be shocked if none are brought in.