Puel previews January transfer window

Southampton manager Claude Puel has revealed that he is not in favour of bringing in another striker during the January window, unless they are of the highest quality.

Speaking ahead of his side’s New Year’s Eve clash with Tony Pulis’ West Brom, the Frenchman said:

“I want to say that I want to continue with these players, to develop them, to make good progress.

“The market of course is open perhaps for a good solution, a good opportunity, but I say it’s always a difficult period to find a good solution.

“For me, if a player comes during the market it is a great player, superior to all the players in the squad. This I think is always difficult for the market window.

“I prefer to stay with the good concertation with my squad, to make good progress and to go up together. It’s my philosophy.”

The Saints, who sit eighth in the Premier League after their 4-1 loss to Tottenham on Wednesday – which saw them lose Nathan Redmond to a red card, are without both Charlie Austin and Sofiane Boufal over the next few weeks, with the former set for months on the sidelines through injury and the latter off on international duty at the African Cup of Nations with Morocco.

With Puel losing both his top scorer and record signing it may seem wise to invest in some attacking firepower, considering they have been rather shy in front of goal this season, having only netted 18 goals in as many games.

A lot now rests on the shoulders of former Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez who bagged a brace in his side’s 3-1 win at Bournemouth before Christmas.

However, the striker is still way off the form he showed before picking up a cruciate ligament injury which began a two-year lay off in 2014, whilst it is even longer since he has played as a sole striker leading the line, considering former manager Mauricio Pochettino utilised him as a winger.