Joakim Maehle and Marin Pongracic could be heading to the Premier League with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints and Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace reportedly keen.
Southampton and Crystal Palace are keen on signing Genk right-back Joakim Maehle next month, according to Sky Sports, while Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are also firm admirers of Salzburg centre-half Marin Pongracic.
With Jupiler League champions Genk already expected to lose star midfielder Sander Berge during the January transfer window, Premier League interest in a highly-rated Danish defender is far from welcome.
It is no secret that Crystal Palace have a gaping whole in their squad on the right-hand side; one the swashbuckling Maehle could fill comfortably. Roy Hodgson’s side failed to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka after his summer move to Manchester United with Joel Ward and Martin Kelly forced to fill in to limited effect over the first half of the season.
The right-back spot is also something of an Achilles heel at St Mary’s too with Yan Valery starting just one Premier League game since that horrific 9-0 thrashing by Leicester City two months ago. The young Frenchman was arguably Southampton’s worst performer during a match which made history for all the wrong reasons on the South Coast.
According to Sky, the Saints are now set to renew their interest in Maehle, having expressed an interest in the £10 million-rated youngster over the summer too (the Mail).
Maehle admitted recently that he was flattered by the ‘nice proposal’ from Southampton and Genk could be tempted to cash in after their European campaign ended in disappointment in the group stage.
Sky adds that Southampton want another Champions League defender – 22-year-old centre-back Pongracic. The Croatian, a former Bayern Munich youngster, could provide some much needed competition for the struggling Jan Bednarek and Maya Yoshida.
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