Southampton overcame their disastrous start in the Premier League last season to finish just two points behind ninth-placed Sheffield United.
The Saints will be looking to continue their post-lockdown form but have suffered a big blow already. Their former skipper, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, has left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur, which has created a big void in their midfield.
Southampton now have just Oriol Romeu, James Ward-Prowse and Will Smallbone in central midfield. Ralph Hasenhuttl will look to sign another midfielder to replace Hojbjerg and it looks as though he has identified the man for the job.
The Telegraph claims the Saints are interested in signing Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury this summer. The 22-year-old Englishman had a decent Premier League campaign for the Foxes last term.
Choudhury is highly rated at the King Power stadium. The former England under-21 international played 29 times for the Foxes last season in all competitions and is viewed by many as the future of Leicester’s midfield.
However, Choudhury has a number of players ahead of him in the pecking order – Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet can all play in the deeper midfield role.
Good move for Choudhury?
Leicester, in an ideal world, wouldn’t want to let Choudhury leave, especially with a Europa League campaign coming up. However, if the young midfielder is eyeing regular game time this season, he could opt to join the Saints.
Choudhury would be a good addition for the South Coast side. Hasenhuttl has an excellent history of developing young players and the Foxes midfielder could thrive under him.
Leicester won’t make it easy for the Saints. Choudhury still has three years left on his contract and Southampton would have to pay a substantial transfer fee to convince Rodgers to let him leave in the coming days.
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