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A look at the three central defenders currently linked with Southampton

By Nikos Lemanis

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 31: Virgil van Dijk of Southampton and Hal Robson-Kanu of West Bromwich Albion compete for the ball during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 31: Virgil van Dijk of Southampton and Hal Robson-Kanu of West Bromwich Albion compete for the ball during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /
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ROME, ITALY – APRIL 23: Wesley Hoedt (L) of Lazio and Ilija Nestorovski of Palermo compete for the ball during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and US Citta di Palermo at Stadio Olimpico on April 23, 2017 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY – APRIL 23: Wesley Hoedt (L) of Lazio and Ilija Nestorovski of Palermo compete for the ball during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and US Citta di Palermo at Stadio Olimpico on April 23, 2017 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images) /

Wesley Hoedt

Relatively unknown in England, Wesley Hoedt is a Dutch international who currently plays in Italy for Lazio.

Originally a product of the AZ Alkmaar academy, the 23-year-old joined the Biancocelesti from his boyhood club in the summer of 2015. Unlike some of the other defenders in this article, Hoedt has appeared regularly since joining his current club, including in the Europa League.

Hoedt is known for his ability to read the game, make interceptions and win aerial duels, and at 6’3” is considered a strong all-round centre back.

But although he has made 46 appearances over the past two seasons, Lazio have a number of players vying for the centre back slots. Stefan de Vrij, Bastos, Wallace and the returning Mauricio will all hope to challenge for places, so it’s feasible that the sale of a central defender could go through.

Southampton were alleged to be monitoring Hoedt last summer, and recent reports claim that the club are back in discussions with Lazio, with a £12m fee the figure being touted. Everton are also purportedly interested, and Middlesbrough and Leicester have been linked.

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