Southampton: Hasenhuttl hints at definite January transfer business

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has hinted that the club will definitely be doing business in the January transfer window.

The Saints have had a poor start to the 2019/20 season and find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle once again.

Transfer business from the summer hasn’t really paid off and Hasenhuttl will be hoping that players brought in next month can hit the ground running to save his side from the drop.

Speaking on the importance of signings in his pre-match press conference ahead of a vital clash against Aston Villa on Saturday, the Austrian said:

"“Absolutely important because we must see that we have a few positions where we can get new players in. We know this. The transfer window in the summer was not perfect for us. It is absolutely clear that we have to do something in the full-back position because even now we have one out. We only have Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares in these two positions, so this is definitely a position we are looking for at the moment. We will do something.”"

The full-back positions were strangely neglected by Saints in the summer and they have been left with limited options in their squad.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares and Yan Valery are the only players who can play comfortably as full-backs, but it was interesting to note that Valery wasn’t even included in the list of options that Hasenhuttl was talking about here.

As much as last season was a big step forward in development for Valery, he had a particularly horrible time against Leicester as Saints lost 9-0 and is perhaps seen by his boss as a wing-back rather than a regular full-back.

Other areas of the team that Saints may look to add to would be centre-back and perhaps additional options in midfield.

Given that goalscoring has been okay and Danny Ings looks to be in great form whilst staying fit, creating a solid defence that keeps more clean sheets could be the recipe needed to secure Premier League survival.

Saints have conceded the most goals in the top-flight this season with 36 and have looked to easy to play against in some games.

More potential targets may become clear in the next few weeks, but the club were linked with right-back Joakim Maehle from Genk and centre-back Marin Pongracic from Red Bull Salzburg.

Given that a number of recent signings have failed to pay off so far, it will be important that the club get it right this time around.