Ralph Hasenhuttl heaped praise on Kevin Danso ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Manchester United.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as reported by the club’s official website, the Southampton boss discussed the young defender’s start to life at St Mary’s.
Danso made his debut at left-back against Brighton and Hove Albion last Saturday before reverting to his preferred position in central defence against Fulham in midweek.
The 20-year-old will now be keen to make it three consecutive starts when United come to town this weekend.
Hasenhuttl waxed lyrical about his compatriot and said:
I think he showed from the first day when he was here that he knows how to defend. He knows how to play football and, physically, has very good options. He is very quick and also good at jumping for the headers.
At this age, he is very experienced because he played a lot of games in Germany and I think this signing was a really good one for us.
This young guy has a lot of potential and we will try to develop him because he is very open-minded and working hard. This is exactly the kind of player we are searching for in our philosophy.
Read Southampton’s verdict
Danso has all the qualities to become a very, very good centre-back. He reads the game intelligently and positions himself well to halt attacking movements through halfspaces and central areas.
While he remains somewhat raw technically, he has already displayed that he is a capable ball-player with efficient performances at Brighton and Fulham.
Danso showed at Augsburg that he can be relied on at senior level, and while a clash against Manchester United is somewhat daunting for a 20-year-old in an unfamiliar league, just a few weeks after signing, it is essential that he plays.
He has barely put a foot wrong since arriving on Deadline Day, and of all our current defenders, he is best-suited physically, at the very least, to stop Marcus Rashford.
