3 massive January deals Southampton missed out on

Fabian Schar

Although the Saints managed to keep hold of Virgil van Dijk, the sale of captain Jose Fonte to West Ham does leave them slightly short in the centre-back department.

Which is why the South Coast outfit were linked with a move for Hoffenheim’s Fabian Schar during the January window.

The Swiss international has started just three times for the club in the Bundesliga this season, this all after a summer which saw the 25-year-old produce impressive displays to help his country reach the last 16 of Euro 2016.

Nonetheless, Schar is clearly out of favour at Hoffenheim and, although he’s made a few substitute appearances in 2017, it doesn’t look like he’s going to nail down a starting place anytime soon.

The tough-tackling defender could have been ideal for Southampton, yet it wasn’t a deal they could get done last month.