Premier League strugglers Southampton are reportedly set to hire former RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuttl as Mark Hughes’ successor.
It seems only a matter of time before Ralph Hasenhuttl is posing in front of the St Mary’s pitch, holding a red and white scarf above his head.
According to the Guardian, the Austrian is all but certain to be Southampton’s next manager with a two-and-a-half year contract set to be signed.
The report added that the Saints have been attracted by Hasenhuttl’s penchant for fast-paced attacking football and his tendency to bring through young players; two of the club’s main principles that have been lost in the last two years or so.
And Southampton fans cannot wait for the January transfer window to roll around. Hasenhuttl worked with a pool of hugely promising footballers during his successful two-year spell at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, and there is one in particular that Saints fans are hoping he will reunite with on the South Coast.
Timo Werner, after all, has plundered 42 goals since joining Leipzig from Stuttgart in 2016, establishing himself as one of Europe’s most exciting young forwards and inspiring Germany to success at the Confederations Cup a year ago.
He’s quick, clinical and exactly the sort of goal-scorer Southampton are crying out for – imagine a super-powered Shane Long.
The chances are that Werner has bigger ambitions than Southampton and he is more than likely out of their price range too. But it seems that Hasenhuttl has already brought the positivity back to St Mary’s.
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