Southampton: Saints hand Hasenhuttl big January transfer war chest

Southampton have reportedly handed Ralph Hasenhuttl a significant sum to spend on players in the January transfer window.

According to a report from the Daily Express (Friday 3rd January 2020, pg 55), the Austrian has £30m available as he looks to bring in a few new faces.

It remains to be seen whether this figure is correct, but making signings this month may need a big amount considering that prices during the winter window are often inflated.

The report also states that Joakim Maehle and Jarrod Bowen are high on Saints’ list of targets after being linked earlier this season.

Defence will be the main area that the club look to strengthen, with Hasenhuttl stating recently that full-backs are definitely needed.

One other thing that the Saints boss has said is that bringing in two players is the target this month.

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As mentioned before, Maehle and Bowen have been linked, whilst central defenders Jean-Clair Todibo and Mohammed Salisu are reportedly on Hasenhuttl’s wishlist too.

Conceding goals has been a problem and tightening things up at the back could be what is needed to definitely secure survival this campaign.

Scoring and creating hasn’t been as much of an issue, but bringing in Jarrod Bowen would be a huge coup if Saints could get him.

The important thing now will be getting players in who are more likely to hit the ground running and prove more of a success than some previous signings.

Guido Carrillo, Mario Lemina and Jannik Vestergaard are just three players who came in for big fees and haven’t been able to make a real impression on the South Coast.

Players who will soon be out of contract will need to be replaced and this could hint at perhaps two full-backs and a centre-back arriving.

Cedric will be leaving somewhen this year so a new right-back will be needed, whilst Ryan Bertrand is the only senior left-back at the club currently.

Additional centre-back options are also needed with a lack of leaders seemingly being exposed at times.