Southampton beat Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Wednesday to get back to winning ways after a tricky few weeks.

Claude Puel’s side were seventh in the Premier League after beating Bournemouth 3-1 back on December 18, but since then they have lost all three league matches, and were unable to get past Championship side Norwich in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Nonetheless, the Saints produced a dominant display to get the better of Jurgen Klopp’s Reds at St Mary’s, with Nathan Redmond’s first half goal enough to give Puel’s men an advantage going into the second leg at Anfield in a fortnight’s time.

Puel’s men may have had a troublesome few weeks, but they are still tenth in the Premier League having won six and drawn six of their 20 league games, and are nine points clear of the bottom three.

However, Saints boss Puel is likely to want reinforcements in the January window to secure a fourth consecutive top half finish in the Premier League, so here are TWO strikers that would be perfect for the Saints this month…

Manolo Gabbiadini

Napoli’s versatile forward Manolo Gabbiadini is interesting several Premier League clubs, one of which is Southampton.

The 25-year-old moved to Naples in the January transfer window of 2015 from fellow Serie A side Sampdoria, and has since netted 24 times in 76 games for the club.

His recent form has been excellent, having scored in each of his last three games – the latest coming in Napoli’s 3-1 victory over Spezia in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Gabbiadini has only started seven times in Serie A this season, and looks set to move this month, with Premier League and Bundesliga interest rife.

However, given Southampton’s striker issues following Charlie Austin’s long-term injury, the experienced Italian international could be exactly what Puel is looking for ahead of the second half of the season.

Daniel Sturridge

Austin’s injury leaves just Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long leading the Southampton line for the second half of the season, and you sense that there aren’t enough goals in those two for the Saints to remain in the top half.

Thus, a striker must be a priority for Puel in the January window, and one man he should take a look at is Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge.

The England striker has been restricted to just five Premier League starts for the Reds this season, with the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, and Divock Origi all preferred to the 27-year-old.

Despite starting and indeed netting in his last league game, it’s unclear whether Sturridge has done enough to convince Klopp of his ability as an all round striker in his team, so a January move could well take place.

Thus, Southampton should beat West Ham to the forward’s signature, as he’ll no doubt get regular first team football, and thus will repay the Saints with several goals to help them finish in the top half of the Premier League once again.