Southampton: Hasenhuttl confirms Saints have signed Ibrahima Diallo

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed that the club have signed midfielder Ibrahima Diallo from Stade Brestois.

Saints’ pursuit of a new midfield signing has been well-documented ever since they sold former captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to Spurs back in August. Now, according to the Athletic’s Dan Sheldon, they have signed Diallo on a four-year contract for a fee of around £12.7m.

The club missed out on Ibrahim Sangare after reported work permit issues last week but it seems they have moved quickly to get another target in through the door at St Mary’s.

Speaking on the signing of Diallo after his side’s 2-0 win over West Brom on Sunday, Hasenhuttl said:

"“It’s done. He is our new player and we are happy to have him here.”"

For Saints fans, this is great news that the long wait for another signing is almost over.

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Diallo will join Mohammed Salisu and Kyle Walker-Peters as new players for the 2020/21 and will compete with James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu for a starting role in the centre of midfield when he is up to speed with Hasenhuttl’s style of play.

Listening further to Ralph here, this may not be the only signing that Saints make ahead of tomorrow’s transfer deadline.

The Austrian went on to confirm that they will hopefully bring in “another one” and that with “two more players it looks okay”.

It remains to be seen which player will be arriving given that Saints have been linked with a host of names of the past week or so. With good competition in most areas of the pitch though, it is possible that an additional attacker could arrive on loan.

Other midfielders have also been mentioned as loan targets for the club so the eyes of Saints fans will be glued to social media over the next 24 hours to see what happens.