Southampton were reportedly keen on signing Tanguy Nianzou this summer and Ralph Hasenhuttl may have missed out on a gem by not signing him.

It has been reported that both Fulham and Southampton tried to sign the French centre-back from Bayern Munich before his eventual move to Sevilla, who were desperate for centre-back reinforcements after Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde joined Aston Villa and Barcelona respectively.

The 20-year-old, who was previously at PSG, would make 28 appearances during his time at Bayern Munich, including 17 in the Bundesliga last season, but he clearly wanted regular football elsewhere, and he definitely could have been afforded that at Southampton.

Hasenhuttl's focus during the summer was recruiting younger players, with Gavin Bazunu, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Romeo Lavia and Sekou Mara all joining the club.

The Austrian has also deployed a five-at-the-back system in the first few matches of the new Premier League campaign, with Yan Valery featuring as a centre-back, which suggests that there is still a lot of room for Southampton to improve in that area, especially considering the Frenchman has mainly featured as a right-back in his career.

Considering Jan Bednarek has been linked with a move away recently, signing someone such as Nianzou, who has decent experience considering his age, would have made a lot of sense for the Saints.

Julian Nagelsmann was full of praise for the young defender last season, saying:

“As a coach, you always hope that he’ll be almost perfect but you can’t expect that when you’re giving him so little playing time. You’re a bit responsible as a coach.

"Overall, I was very satisfied with Tanguy. You can see that he has a very good character, that he throws everything in. He has unbelievable aggressiveness and a winning mentality that is extraordinary.”

Therefore, Nianzou looked as if he would tick a lot of boxes for Southampton, and given that he signed for Sevilla for just €16m (£13.5), he could definitely be considered a transfer that got away from the Saints if he proves to be a success with the La Liga side.