Southampton’s hopes of permanent Wesley Hoedt exit could be dashed by recent mishaps [Opinion]

Southampton’s prospects of recouping some amount of cash for defender Wesley Hoedt in the summer could have been dented by 26-year-old’s recent fortunes while out on loan at Lazio.

The Serie A side made a move to re-sign the defender on a season-long loan back in October, with Hoedt having originally been sold by Lazio to the Saints back in 2017 for around £15m. At the time when the Dutch centre-back was added to the squad at St Mary’s, he was hailed as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe by then vice-chairman Les Reed.

However, the defender’s move to Southampton on a five-year deal has turned into something of a financial blunder by the Saints. The defender made 28 Premier League appearances in the 2017/18 season but struggled at times, making two errors directly leading to opposing teams scoring and also giving away the ball on average 11.6 times per game (Sofascore).

Hoedt’s form at the start of his Southampton career was decent, but that changed upon Mark Hughes’ arrival at the club and he made just 13 league appearances in 2018/19.

Since Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived at St Mary’s midway through that campaign, the 26-year-old has not been part of his plans and has been loaned out to both Celta Vigo and Royal Antwerp before his move to Lazio four months ago.

The move which saw Hoedt return to Lazio on loan also includes the option to buy, should the Serie A side wish to do so in the summer. However, he has made just seven starts in the league this term (Sofascore) and has been enduring a poor run of form over the last few weeks. That has even seen him clash with team-mates in the dressing room, according to reports from Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport [via Sport Witness].

On Sunday night, the defender was again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after making two errors in the first half against Inter Milan, giving away a penalty and not doing enough to stop Romelu Lukaku’s second goal. The 26-year-old was hooked at half-time having been booked for the concession of the penalty, and Hoedt was described as being surprised to have been subbed off by manager Simone Inzaghi.

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The defender is now suspended for Lazio’s next league match, and judging by his recent performances and reported off-field misfortunes, it seems that the chances of a permanent deal being completed in the summer are diminshing.

Hoedt does not seem to be impressing in Serie A this term with Lazio, and it is only highlighting the mistake the Saints made by paying £15m for him. That misjudgement has been repeated with subsequent big-money moves for the likes of Mohamed Elyounoussi, Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina – none of whom are in Hasenhuttl’s current squad.

Southampton are not in the best condition financially at the moment, as was laid bare in the club’s recent financial report. That was perhaps further reflected by the lack of January arrivals, and the Saints must look to improve their recruitment and make sure that more money is not wasted on ill-advised signings such as Hoedt, on whom a loss now seems certain to be made if Southampton can find a club to take him off their hands.