#PLStories- #RalphHasenhuttl reveals summer plans as transfer window opens #SAINTSFC

BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl says Saints will save back some money to allow them to pounce later in the summer, with the transfer window officially opening from today. Clubs in England have 12 weeks to do business between now and deadline day on August 31. Saints have already moved early to tie free agent Theo Walcott down to a two-year deal, when his contract at Everton expires at the end of this month. Walcott, a former academy star, returned to St Mary's on loan from the Toffees in October and impressed enough to earn a permanent deal. But the summer transfer business is not expected to stop there, with Hasenhuttl on the lookout for multiple players to bolster his squad as Saints look to improve on their disappointing 15th-placed Premier League finish. Full-back is a clear priority, particularly given the departure of Ryan Bertrand. Saints have already been linked with a host of players since the Premier League season finished last month, most recently Brest defender Romain Perraud. Asked if he is keen to get transfer dealings done early in the window, particularly with the European Championship potentially affecting the value of certain players this summer, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: "I think the first one or two signings should be early ones. “Then you should wait because sometimes things are popping up what you are not expecting. That can give you a very interesting opportunity to get maybe players in you didn’t expect. “Also to the end of the transfer windows, not every good player will find the spot he wants to go. “That is what we experienced last summer, somebody at the end – you needed a little bit of money rested for the special signing if somebody pops up because somebody else finally didn’t go for him." During last summer's transfer window, Saints signed Kyle Walker-Peters and Mohammed Salisu within three weeks of deals being permitted, before late swoops for both Ibrahima Diallo and Walcott, once the season had already begun.