Southampton: Saints open talks with Anderlecht over potential loan deal

Southampton have reportedly opened talks with Belgian Jupiler Pro League side Anderlecht over a potential loan deal for Wesley Hoedt.

Via Sky Sports (Transfer Centre, 7th September 2020, 12:29 GMT), Saints want to move the Dutch international on with a permanent deal but a move to Anderlecht would be a season-long loan.

To date, Hoedt has made just 45 appearances for Saints after joining for a significant fee of around £15m back in 2017.

He was expected to hold the left-sided centre-back’s role for the long-term when he signed from Lazio but put in a string of clumsy displays to show that he is not quite up to Premier League football.

He has fallen well out of favour since then and has spent two spells out on loan with Spanish outfit Celta Vigo and Belgian side Royal Antwerp.

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Saints are now actively looking to recoup some money for some of the players they have signed over the past few years that have not paid off. Hoedt is believed to be one of them and joins the likes of Guido Carrillo and Mario Lemina – who has joined Fulham on loan – on the transfer list.

Given that Hoedt is not really a valuable asset, Saints have to expect a big loss on the original fee they paid to Lazio three years ago.

A loan would not really be in their favour in financial terms but could produce some interest from Anderlecht to take Hoedt on a permanent deal in the future.

Saints will still be on the hunt for signings of their own and will surely look to bring in a midfielder to replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. For this reason, they will want to secure funds from the transfers of outgoing players as soon possible.

Hoedt still has a two-year contract at St Mary’s and has publicly stated that he wants to move on when the right opportunity comes about, so it remains to be seen whether Anderlecht will be his next destination.