Southampton: Saints’ January transfer plans clearer with full-back interest

Southampton’s plans for the January transfer window have become clearer after a report outlined the business that they are looking to do.

According to skysports.com, they have reignited their interest in Genk right-back Joakim Maehle after failing with a move for the 22-year-old last January.

The report also states that signing a new left-back and a new central-midfielder are priorities that the club will look to sort if possible.

As a young player with potential to improve his game in a bigger league such as the Premier League, Maehle may be a shrewd purchase for Saints.

The fact that he has been on their list of targets for the past year shows that they see him as someone who could make a real impact and replace the potentially outgoing Cedric Soares.

The Danish youth international has made 105 appearances for Genk and has Champions League experience from his time in Belgium.

With a good grounding in a smaller league now though, he could be ready to move on soon.

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• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
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A big part of the club’s restructuring after three disappointing years will be sorting the playing squad currently on offer to Ralph Hasenhuttl.

However, it remains unclear just how much will be available to spend in the winter window with a lot of money still tied up in the contracts and transfer fees of players out on loan.

One player that Saints were recently linked with was Barcelona’s Jean-Clair Todibo, but a recent report said that AC Milan had moved ahead of both Saints and Watford in the race to sign him.

Defensive additions will surely be the main priority this January, although fees are usually inflated hugely due to the window being in the middle of the season.

Saints have continued to be suspect at the back and have seen some of their results fit in with their unwanted pattern of dropped points from the last three seasons.

They have also conceded the most goals of any team in the top-flight this campaign – mainly thanks to their 9-0 loss to Leicester back in October.

Their brief improvement recently saw seven points secured in games against Arsenal, Watford and Norwich, but the positivity has somewhat dropped away after two consecutive losses to Newcastle and West Ham.