Wednesday’s print edition of Dutch newspaper Het Nieuwsblad (as per Sport Witness) is reporting that Southampton are interested in signing Aurelio Buta from Royal Antwerp.
What’s the story?
The 22-year-old is a right-back who is having a “great season” as per the outlet.
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That has led to a host of Premier League club being interested, including the Saints. The other sides to be mentioned are Wolves, Watford and Leicester City.
Creative addition
There is certainly plenty that catches the eye with £3.6m-valued Buta – as per Transfermarkt. So far this campaign, he has racked up five assists in 18 matches in the Jupiler league with Antwerp, whilst he managed six in 20 last year. Add in the one goal he has this term as well, and it certainly looks like he could be an interesting addition.
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His potential arrival would show exactly what kind of football Hasenhuttl is trying to implement at St. Mary’s Stadium. So far this campaign, both Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares are in the top seven of Saints players with the most key passes per match, whilst they are also both in the top three of crosses per game as well.
Calling all Premier League experts: Who do these unique statistics belong to? Find out below….
On the whole they are two players who have under-performed though, picking up respective WhoScored ratings of 6.33 and 6.56, but it is clear that Hasenhuttl wants to ask his full-backs to provide more going forward.
Interestingly, this is a difference from his time at RB Leipzig. Since his departure, both Marcel Halstenberg’s and Lukas Klostermann’s attacking threat has increased, with them now scoring and assisting more since he left the club.
Perhaps Hasenhuttl thinks he needs a different style in the Premier League. But considering he took Die Rotenbullen to second place in the Bundesliga, perhaps he should stick to his guns a little more and look at asking his full-backs to provide less going forward. That tactic has brought him success in the past – he should stick to his principles.
In other news, that stats show that Southampton are doing far worse than they should be.