Southampton suffered a fifth defeat in six Premier League matches on Tuesday night after going down 2-1 at relegation-threatened Swansea.

Claude Puel’s side six days previously secured their place in the League Cup final after completing an aggregate victory over Liverpool in the semi-finals, but they returned to league matters by falling behind to an Alfie Mawson goal at the Liberty Stadium in the first half.

Shane Long did equalise for the visitors early in the second half, but the Swans’ talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson netted what turned out to be the winner 20 minutes from time to secure a much-needed three points for Paul Clement’s men.

It means though that Puel’s Saints have slipped to 12th in the table, although they are still eight points clear of the bottom three, which should be enough for them not to need to worry about the prospect of relegation.

Nonetheless, their recent league form must be of concern to Puel, who could’ve looked at the transfer market as a way of arresting the slump.

He did bring in Napoli striker Manolo Gabbiadini on deadline day, but other than that there were no incomings at St Mary’s, despite the club being linked with many quality players.

Thus, here is what their FRONT FOUR could have looked like had they got one key deal over the line last month…

Nathan Redmond

Southampton spent £10 million on England Under-21 star Nathan Redmond last summer and, although he hasn’t been a world-beater, he’s certainly scored some important goals for the club.

The 22-year-old made a good start to life on the South Coast by netting on his debut against Watford back in August, before netting twice more in October in a win over Burnley and an impressive draw at Manchester City.

However, Redmond then endured a barren spell of no goal or assist in 11 appearances before setting up Jay Rodriguez for a sensational finish in the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth on December 18.

He got his first goal since October in their 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final, and he appears to be growing into the role and responsibilities of the more advanced role at St Mary’s, so expect more contributions from the youngster over the coming months.

Dusan Tadic

Dusan Tadic suffered a broken nose on international duty with Serbia back in November, and hasn’t quite hit the heights since then at Southampton.

The 28-year-old sustained his injury after being kicked in the face by Wales’ Neil Taylor in their World Cup qualifier on November 12, and then went on to miss the next four weeks of the campaign which, when Southampton’s squad was being stretched anyway, was a long absence.

Tadic hasn’t quite been at the same high standards this term, even before the nasty injury, as he has netted just twice and laid on two further assists in 30 appearances in all competitions thus far.

However, it’s clear from last season that the Serb possesses vast amounts of quality in the final third, and with Charlie Austin injured for the foreseeable future, Puel will be looking towards Tadic to help get the goals to move them up the Premier League table.

Hatem Ben Arfa

Southampton weren’t linked with too many forward players, with the departure of Jose Fonte turning attentions to the back, but one man they did have a reported interest in was Hatem Ben Arfa.

The former Newcastle and Hull attacker, currently at French champions Paris Saint-Germain, spent a season under the stewardship of Puel at Nice last time out, and it was there where the 29-year-old played some of the best football of his career.

In just one season, Ben Arfa netted 18 goals in 37 games for the club, 17 of which were in their Ligue 1 campaign which saw them finish fourth and just two points behind Monaco in third.

Clearly, Puel knew something other managers didn’t in getting the best out of the French international, before both went their separate ways last summer, with Ben Arfa earning a move to PSG and Puel moving to Southampton.

However, things haven’t worked out for Ben Arfa in the French capital, as he has made just four league starts so far this term, as well as just one in their Champions League campaign earlier in the season.

He’s clearly a surplus to requirements at PSG, which is why Puel reportedly wanted to bring him to Southampton last month in a bid to once again get the best out of the 29-year-old.

A deal didn’t happen in January, but a summer move could be on the cards should Ben Arfa remain on the peripheries at PSG.

Manolo Gabbiadini

This was one move that Southampton did get done, as they signed Napoli striker Manolo Gabbiadini in the last hours of the window on Tuesday.

The Italian international has fallen down the pecking order at the Serie A outfit this term, starting just seven of their 22 league matches, and just two of their six Champions League games.

Nonetheless, he still managed five goals for the club this term, three of which were in his last three games for them, which adds to the 20 he netted in his first two seasons in Naples beforehand.

The reported figure of £14 million seems a lot for a player who hasn’t been hugely prolific in the past, but a run of first team football could be invaluable for Gabbiadini as he begins his career in English football.