Austin set for Saints debut against United

Charlie Austin is in line to make his Southampton debut this weekend when the Saints travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to face Manchester United.

Austin signed for Southampton last Saturday from QPR on a three-and-a-half year deal for a fee thought to be around £4m. He watched on from the stands that day as he saw his new side beat West Brom 3-0 at St.Mary’s.

It will surely be a baptism of fire for Austin as he faces a club the stature of Manchester United away from home. It will be a good test of his resolve, and ability, as he will be able to show the Saints fans exactly what he is capable of.

Eurosport reports that Saints boss Ronald Koeman has said that Austin will be in the squad for the match this weekend. However, Koeman previously had doubts over his fitness as he joined the club with a slight hamstring injury.

I was a little worried because Charlie had a hamstring injury before we signed him, but he had all the medical tests and took part in all the training sessions this week.

We had to test him to know he is available and on his fitness tests he is as good as the rest of the players. I wasn’t expecting it so quickly but it’s nice to be surprised.