Southampton: Hasenhuttl reveals approach for January transfer window

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed the approach that Saints will take in the January transfer window next month.

His side find themselves still hanging onto the coat tails of the top-four despite slipping down to ninth in the table and reinforcements for his squad could boost the chances of European qualification.

It seems as though no permanent signings will be made by Saints but they have found a now proven way to bring in quality players who are hungry for success.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of Saints’ clash with Fulham, Hasenhuttl said:

"“If you want to do something then we do something for the future like we did in the last window in January with Kyle Walker-Peters.“Maybe a player brought in on loan and then give him half a year’s chance to show if he’s good enough for us and then we can decide in the summer if we want to buy him.”"

A recent mini injury crisis has made it clear that two or three more signings are needed to help Saints maintain their levels of performance for the long-term.

At Fulham, Hasenhuttl was without Oriol Romeu, Nathan Redmond, Jannik Vestergaard and Danny Ings – all who could have started the game if they had been available.

Ibrahima Diallo, Jack Stephens and Shane Long all came into the starting line-up at Craven Cottage but this left options from the bench limited.

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The oldest outfield player amongst the nine substitutes was 22-year-old Moussa Djenepo, and the two substitutes that Saints used came on in stoppage-time.

It is well-know that Hasenhuttl wants a good group of young players to work with and he is proven at developing players. However, it can certainly be argued that he needs a couple more senior faces to make a push in the second half of the season.

Saints have used the loan market excellently the recent past and this looks to be the way they will go if any January targets become available.

Kyle Walker-Peters and Theo Walcott both came in on temporary deals and impressed hugely – the former signed permanently in the summer, whilst the latter continues to prove his worth.

They have been linked with Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams as cover from left-back and right-back is required, whilst central-midfield and attacking areas may benefit from a new face too.

It remains to be seen what will happen next month but Ralph will also be wary of getting in the way of the development of his young stars.