Claude Puel has made a good start to life in English football, having taken over at Southampton in the summer.

The Frenchman replaced Everton-bound Ronald Koeman at St Mary’s and, although he didn’t win any of his first four Premier League games, the Saints have since won three and drawn two.

Puel’s men drew 1-1 at league leaders Manchester City last time out – a result which kept them eighth in the table, and seven points adrift of Pep Guardiola’s side at the top.

The Saints are also in the Europa League group stage for the first time, and they’ve made a solid start to their Group K campaign. Puel’s side beat Sparta Prague in their first match, but have drawn and lost their last two respectively, including a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan, to sit third in the group.

Nevertheless, Saints fans will no doubt be satisfied with their team’s start to the season, and there is already speculation about who Puel may look to bring in to bolster his squad when the transfer window reopens in January.

Here are TWO players Southampton fans should get excited about in January…

Hatem Ben Arfa

Hatem Ben Arfa showed us in glimpses what he could do when he was at Newcastle United, and he could make a return to the Premier League with Southampton in January.

The French international worked with Puel at Nice last season before they went their separate ways, with Ben Arfa earning a move to French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

However, it hasn’t worked out at all for the 29-year-old, who has not started a game for Unai Emery’s side since 9th September.

He has been asked at times to train alone and, although he has made a few substitute appearances in recent weeks, it doesn’t seem like he is going to break into the starting XI any time soon.

Puel appears willing to give his compatriot a chance at Southampton, such was his great form at Nice, and could move for him in January.

Ademola Lookman

One of the most highly-rated forwards in the Football League, Charlton’s Ademola Lookman is unsurprisingly attracting interest from top-flight clubs.

The 19-year-old burst onto the scene last season in the Addicks’ ill-fated Sky Bet Championship campaign, starting 17 league games and netting five times for the London club.

Speculation was rife over the summer that the England Under-20 international would leave the Valley, but he has stayed and has done well at the start of the season, scoring three goals for the League One side.

Southampton’s recent success of developing young talent is unlikely to go unnoticed by Lookman if they came calling in January, and it’s a move that could certainly happen when the window reopens.