Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl expects his club to have a “busy” final few hours of the transfer window.
One player who could depart St Mary’s on deadline day is Charlie Austin, who has struggled for playing time in recent weeks.
Where could Austin go? Five key things to know…
- Austin joined Southampton from QPR in January 2016 for a reported fee of £4m.
- He’s gone on to register 20 goals across 72 matches for The Saints in all competitions.
- Since the arrival of Hasenhuttl he’s featured in six of the Austrian’s 11 matches in charge.
- A number of clubs have shown interest in acquiring Austin’s signature.
- Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City are some of those reported to be keen on a loan deal.
Hasenhuttl succeeded Mark Hughes last month when the club found themselves in 18th place, having accumulated nine points from 15 games
He’s since been able to move Southampton away from the relegation places. Southampton have won four of their following nine Premier League matches and now lie two places above the danger zone.
However, they are yet to dip into the market this month, despite seeing five players leave including Manolo Gabbiadini, Cédric Soares, Steven Davis and Wesley Hoedt.
But that could soon change, with Hasenhuttl suggesting Austin could be allowed to leave before tonight’s 11pm deadline.
“We don’t want to send him away,” he told the BBC. “If there is an option and we can get someone in then it could be that this works. Until now it is not done.”
Hasenhuttl, who achieved great things at former Bundesliga clubs Ingolstadt and RB Leipzig, is undoubtedly aware he has inherited a squad with glaring weaknesses.
The Austrian tactician revealed that Southampton’s transfer business is not yet concluded and believes Deadline Day could present opportunities that are too good to miss.
He added: “On the last day options come up and it show us chance to get an interesting player. We are still busy. The last day is a day everyone stops with their poker and the cards come on the table.”
Since joining the South Coast club, Hasenhuttl has overseen 11 matches in all competitions but won just four.
Importantly, those victories have been exclusively in the Premier League. The most notable was his second game in charge as an entertaining 3-2 win over Arsenal ended the club’s 12-match winless streak in the league.
He’s since followed that up with big wins over Huddersfield Town, Leicester City and Everton as well as a solid point away to Chelsea.
Hasenhuttl has used no fewer than 29 players with Austin not featuring in their last three outings (albeit having served a one-match ban during that time) prompting speculation about his future. Austin’s deal is set to to expire in June 202.
So far a number of clubs have reportedly shown interest in acquiring his services including Championship outfit Aston Villa and Premier League sides Wolves and Cardiff City.
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