Southampton: Hasenhuttl confirms Saints want up to three more signings

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed how many players the club are looking to sign before the transfer window closes in early October.

Saints have brought in Kyle Walker-Peters and Mohammed Salisu on permanent deals so far this summer but the team’s early season form has emphasised the fact that they need more additions before next month.

After watching his side lose to Crystal Palace, Brentford and Spurs in their opening three games of 2020/21, Hasenhuttl looks to have noticed players that he wants becoming available for a move to St Mary’s.

Speaking to the media ahead of Saints’ meeting with Burnley, he said:

"“I am not happy with the squad but I know that we will get players in.“Some good opportunities are coming up. The player who was our number one choice is not so easy for us to get now but there are some other alternatives coming to us, loan or permanent.“We need one or two minimum, maybe three.”"

It remains to be seen who these incoming players will be but recent links may have given us a clue.

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• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
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A report from Tuesday claimed that Saints were in talks with Everton over the loan signing of midfielder Tom Davies. With Premier League experience under his belt and the player showing a good amount of energy in his performances for the Toffees, this could be a decent deal.

Wesley Hoedt and Sofiane Boufal are expected to leave Saints before the transfer window slams shut too and this has brought about another strong link.

Portuguese media have claimed that the club are negotiating with Sporting Lisbon over the signing of winger Jovane Cabral – another young player who could provide some significant pace and creativity to the attack if Saints agree a fee.

The priority really is an addition in the centre of midfield though and a fresh link to Olivier Ntcham has come about this week too.

Football Insider report that Saints are rivalling West Brom, Marseille and Lyon in the race for his signature after tracking his progress for a while.

Interestingly, the Daily Mail also claim that West Ham are looking to secure a loan deal for  Jannik Vestergaard, so it will be intriguing to see whether a new centre-back is also signed.