Southampton to face Saint-Etienne in a friendly later this month

Southampton have officially announced that they will face French side AS Saint-Etienne at the Municipal de Chambery on the 29th of this month.

Just hours after jetting off to Austria to start their pre-season, the Saints have confirmed that they will play in France at the end of this month.

Their opponents are AS Saint-Etienne, who like Southampton finished eighth in their respective league last season.

Interestingly, the French side were strongly linked with former Southampton manager Claude Puel prior to his dismissal. However the 55-year-old was still under contract with the Saints at that point in time, meaning the French side instead appointed Oscar Garcia.

In the meantime Southampton will be in Austria ahead of facing St. Gallen this coming weekend, before returning to home soil to face Brentford in a friendly the following Saturday.

The Saints recently revealed their squad for the trip to Austria, with several young players including Jake Flannigan and Nathan Tella getting the call alongside the first-team regulars.

Southampton fans will be keen to see Virgil van Dijk injured following his injury at the start of the calendar year, with the club standing strong against interest from Liverpool.

The Dutchman’s involvement against St. Gallen will likely be limited if anything, making the game at Saint-Etienne in just under three weeks the perfect setting for the former Celtic man to make a full and proper return.

The club have also announced that the side will form a pre-season camp in France, suggesting their stay in the country will last around a week to ten days.

Southampton had initially been met with criticism for leaving little time before announcing the friendly games, leaving fans with little time to organise work cover or even book flights abroad.