Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has suggested that the Saints will not be able to dip into the transfer market this month to bring in readymade players who can help cover their injury issues.
The Saints suffered just their fifth defeat in the Premier League this season on Saturday at Leicester City in a game which saw them deprived of the likes of Danny Ings, Jannik Vestergaard, Oriol Romeu, Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo. Also, Ryan Bertrand picked up a booking which will see him suspended for their next game against Arsenal.
Hasenhuttl has already suggested that the Saints will not be busy in the transfer market this month, but he had left the door open for potential arrivals of younger, up-and-coming players who could be developed. The Saints have been linked with Brandon Williams and Demarai Gray, although they may be willing to wait to sign the Leicester winger in the summer.
Speaking to Hampshire Live after their defeat at the King Power Stadiun, Hasenhuttl revealed that the Saints are unlikely to be able to resolve their current injury issues by going into the market and adding players. That is because they cannot afford to add the quality of player who could make an instant impact for them.
The manager said: “No, I don’t know. We have our eyes open (on adding to the squad given recent injuries). The options that we have, they have potential and are not really players who can help us at the moment, so.
“Players who can help us immediately cost a lot of money and this is what we cannot do.”
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Southampton were not likely to be too busy in the market this month, and when they have everyone fit, they have proven that they can be one of the best-performing sides in the Premier League. However, the current injury situation means that, ideally, they would need to bring in a few players to help improve the size of the squad.
However, the Saints’ financial situation is not looking too healthy at the moment and they may even be forced to sell players rather than bring them in during this month. That means Southampton are going to have to continue to rely on youth players to fill the bench.
Hasenhuttl will be hopeful that the injuries can start to ease off over the next few weeks, which could be crucial if they are to sustain their excellent form. If that doesn’t happen, then it could be a challenging second half of the season.
