According to the Daily Mail, Southampton have begun talks with Belgian outfit Genk over right a potential deal for right-back Joakim Maehle.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has identified the Danish U21 international as a potential replacement for Cedric Soares, who has been linked with a £15million move to Everton. (h/t Daily Mail)
A youth product of Danish club Aalborg, Maehle made his move to Belgian giants Genk at the start of the last season and has taken his career to a new level. The 21-year-old has registered 2 goals and 11 assists from 62 appearances for Genk across all competitions.
The youngster has been in red-hot form this season, helping his team to the top of the table in the Jupiler League. He has also been one of the driving forces behind Genk’s successful Europa League campaign in the group stages, providing three assists to help his club qualify for the knockout stages as the group toppers.
A quick, agile and offensive-minded full-back, Maehle is bound to be a perfect fit for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s philosophy. Maehle has averaged 44.8 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 82.2, including 1.5 key passes, 2.5 dribbles and 2.7 long balls in the Europa League this season. To go with those numbers, the Dane has completed 11 of his attempted 13 tackles in the Europa League group stages, including 5 key interceptions in 6 outings.
Suffice to say, Joakim Maehle has shown that he has all the makings of developing into a top-quality full-back and his attacking brand of football should perfectly suit Hasenhuttl’s Southampton.
Meanwhile, the Saints got themselves out of the relegation zone with an impressive 2-1 victory over Everton in the Premier League this week. Hasenhuttl’s men are currently 15th in the standings but they need to continue to build some momentum in the second half of the season to steer themselves to safety.
In all honesty, Cedric Soares has been a seasoned campaigner for the Saints and losing a hugely experienced customer at a crucial stage of the season might prove to be detrimental to their campaign. However, they should not hesitate to snap up the Danish youngster to provide cover and competition for Yan Valery at right-wing back, with the Austrian manager preferring a back three system in recent weeks.
That said, they should splash the cash to get their hands on Maehle if Soares does leave the club in January.