Southampton have missed out on a transfer target after it was confirmed that Swansea have signed Chelsea's Marc Guehi on a loan deal until the end of the season.

What's the word, then?

Well, the Swans confirmed on Friday afternoon that they had completed the signing of Guehi, who will wear the number two shirt for the Championship side.

According to a report from The Sun just before Christmas, Southampton were believed to be interested in securing a loan for the 19-year-old defender, while another Premier League outfit in Norwich were also keeping an eye on the situation.

The Sun also reported that Swansea were interested, along with other Championship sides in Bristol City and Nottingham Forest, although it has now been confirmed that Steve Cooper's side have won the race for the teenager.

The hunt for defensive recruits continues for Southampton

After missing out on Guehi - a January target for the Saints - it is now a case of going back to the drawing board for Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The former RB Leipzig boss declared that his side "will do something" in the market in terms of bolstering the full-back positions this month, while Adam Blackmore reported that Hasenhuttl reiterated that claim in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Leicester game this weekend.

Significantly, the south coast side have conceded the second-most goals in the Premier League this season with 38 concessions in 21 games, so the need for defensive recruits is a great one.

Additionally, behind Ryan Bertrand, Yan Valery and Cedric, Hasenhuttl doesn't have any other senior full-backs while he also has just Maya Yoshida - who has played just five Premier League minutes since that 9-0 loss to Leicester - and Jannik Vestergaard, who the club are open to offers for, behind first-choice centre-back pairing Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek.

Call yourself a Premier League expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

Apart from The Sun's report, it is unclear just how badly Southampton wanted Guehi - however, he was believed to be a target, so Hasenhuttl can put a red cross next to this one on his wishlist.

In other news, this Southampton decision is a damning indictment of the club's transfer policy...