Ralph Hasenhuttl
Ralph Hasenhuttl insists Saints will be fully prepared for the transfer window when it opens. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the current Premier League campaign, what the traditional summer trading period will look like remains unclear. Despite this, Hasenhuttl, who is currently in Munich with his family, has been working with the club behind the scenes to identify potential targets.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “We are prepared, and we know that it will be an interesting transfer window – maybe a shorter one. The surroundings are also changing because the values for the players will go down I think. We can’t say what impact this will have on the transfer market, but we are prepared for it and we have the time now to get in contact with everybody. The good thing is that we all know it will start again and that, step-by-step, we will come back to normality again. Therefore, you have to be prepared and to use this time now is absolutely helpful.You have to remember that the players we want to sell will also be worth less money. It has an impact on every club and I think, in the end, when the transfers are starting, and you have some issues, you will do everything to get the player you want. I don’t see the prices dropping that far but the selection would be a more critical one and, therefore, you have to be prepared.”
The St Mary’s side have a host of players out on loan who, ideally, they would like to sell in order to generate money for new signings. Mario Lemina, Fraser Forster and Guido Carrillo, to name just three, are three loanees who appear to not fit into Hasenhuttl’s first-team plans. Even though Saints’ manager thinks overall valuations will fall, he still believes clubs could be forced to spend more if they get desperate.
