Southampton defender Yan Valery is unlikely to leave for Bundesliga side Schalke 04 this month despite recent reports suggesting the 21-year-old could depart St Mary’s, according to Hampshire Live.
The defender has endured a frustrating start to the season and had not made a single Premier League appearance for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in the opening 16 matches of the campaign. However, the right-back was brought on for the final few minutes in the win over Liverpool on Monday, playing a more advanced role in front of Kyle Walker-Peters on the right-hand side.
Prior to that cameo, the 21-year-old had not featured for the Saints since the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal last June. Reports had emerged from Sky Germany, via Hampshire Live, that Valery has been offered to Bundesliga strugglers Schalke 04, who are apparently keen to add a number of players to their squad to help get their season back on track.
It has now emerged that Southampton could want to keep hold of the defender to provide cover for the full-back positions, with them focusing on adding in that area rather than losing players. It has also emerged that Bayer Leverkusen’s Mitchell Weiser is more likely to be signed by Schalke to boost the right-back position than Valery at this stage, per Hampshire Live.
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Despite Valery struggling for game time so far this season, mostly due to the excellent form of Kyle Walker-Peters, it would have been a substantial risk to allow the Frenchman to leave the club this month. Southampton have been trying to sign Brandon Williams from Manchester United, but that move now seems unlikely to happen.
Therefore, the Saints need to keep hold of Valery to provide cover for Walker-Peters. The 21-year-old impressed Hasenhuttl when he first took over at the club and duly signed a new deal committing his future to St Mary’s until 2023. That saw him labelled the ‘perfect example of the Southampton way’ by the Austrian.
Valery demonstrated his potential versatility off the bench against Liverpool, playing as more of a right midfielder. That could enable him to receive more game-time in the second half of the season, and it appears that the defender’s immediate future is still at St Mary’s rather than elsewhere.
