Saints Marching
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Three Ligue 1 centre-backs Southampton should sign

By Chris Hughes

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Virgil van Dijk of Southampton arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Burnley and Southampton at Turf Moor on January 14, 2017 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Virgil van Dijk of Southampton arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Burnley and Southampton at Turf Moor on January 14, 2017 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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Nice’s French forward Hatem Ben Arfa (R) Nice’s French forward Valere Germain (C) and Nice’s French defender Maxime Le Marchand (L) celebrate at the end of the French L1 football match Nice (OGC Nice) vs Lyon (OL) on November 20, 2015 at the ‘Allianz Riviera’ stadium in Nice, southeastern France. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE (Photo credit should read VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
Nice’s French forward Hatem Ben Arfa (R) Nice’s French forward Valere Germain (C) and Nice’s French defender Maxime Le Marchand (L) celebrate at the end of the French L1 football match Nice (OGC Nice) vs Lyon (OL) on November 20, 2015 at the ‘Allianz Riviera’ stadium in Nice, southeastern France. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE (Photo credit should read VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images) /

Maxime Le Marchand

Arguably the most realistic edition from this list, Le Marchand could well and truly be the perfect candidate for the spot.

First and foremost he was signed for OGC Nice by Claude Puel during his tenure with the club, making the Southampton manager a fan of his style of play.

What’s more the Frenchman has fallen out of favour this season, making just nine league appearances, with only seven of them as starts. This suggests heavily that he could look for pastures new come summertime.

What’s more Le Marchand suits Puel’s love of confident, ball-playing centre-backs. From those nine league appearances he’s averaged a 92.2 passing success rate, however his defensive stats have taken a hit.

He’s averaging more fouls per game than he is successful tackles in Ligue 1, but alongside a Pontus Jansson or even VVD himself the 27-year-old would have the chance to return to the form that saw Nice sign two seasons ago.