The January transfer window was once seen by Southampton supporters as the make-or-break period of the season, yet opinions seem to have changed over the past few weeks.
The Saints have undergone a massive turnaround in the Premier League, winning four of the past six games and clawing their way out of the relegation zone for the time being.
Performances have improved massively in recent weeks, which has seemingly led to Ralph Hasenhuttl claiming via The Southern Daily Echo that Southampton could be fine without making any January signings despite his previous stance being that the Saints needed fresh legs via Sky Sports News.
Is this the most important transfer window in recent years?Yes, we need fresh facesNo, we've experienced worse |
The Austrian manager said: “If you take one player then I don’t think so. If you take three or four players, then it could change a little bit. We know we are not that strong in the full-back positions, which means alternatives for Ryan (Bertrand) and Cedric (Soares). But we have Yan Valery, who is training again on the pitch, and Jake Vokins who made a good development. It’s not that bad. We aren’t scared about going with this team for the last three months.”
Indeed, it is easy to see why Hasenhuttl has developed this opinion with his side one of the in-form teams in the Premier League as tables from Transfermarkt show, but the former RB Leipzig manager is kidding himself if he doesn’t think Southampton need signings this month.
The fullback position, which he mentioned to The Southern Daily Echo, is an area of the pitch that is in desperate need of improvement with starting right-back Cedric set to depart the club in the summer transfer window and Bertrand beginning to show his age after years of consistent performances.
Hasenhuttl and Southampton might currently be riding on Cloud Nine after a stellar few weeks, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the south coast side can do with winter signings that can ensure a midtable finish for the Saints, and the Austrian could live to regret not spending in this transfer window come to the end of the season.
