Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl had some interesting things to say about RB Leipzig striker Jean-Kevin Augustin in his Everton pre-match press conference on Thursday, following a report in The Sun this week that Saints were one of three Premier League clubs chasing the out of favour 21-year-old.

What's the word, then?

Well, The Sun reported that the south coast outfit, along with the Toffees and Wolverhampton Wanderers, are all keeping tabs on the former Paris Saint-Germain attacker, who has found first-team minutes hard to come by in the Bundesliga this term despite his impressive form at Leipzig under Hasenhuttl during the 2017/18 campaign.

When asked by a reporter about the speculation, the 51-year-old replied, as quoted by Sky Sports:

"It's nice that you know we are linked with this guy! I don't want to explain if it is [true] or not.

"I know Jean-Kevin very well. I think every player I know well is linked with us.

"He has got qualities, he is quick, can score and is used to the high-pressing methods we use, so that would help him if he would be here.

"But he isn't and I don't want to discuss any players that are linked with us. If there is a player who has signed, we will tell you."

What do his comments mean?

Hasenhuttl could have easily refused to speak about the player or the speculation, but his comments revealed that he clearly likes the player, has a good relationship with him and he is ideally suited to the style of play he is keen to implement successfully at Southampton.

Given Saints aren't blessed with a plethora of quality striker options that fit those particular needs, it would be no surprise if the Frenchman was to be a target either now or in the summer.

The latter is certainly more likely considering The Sun report that Leipzig could demand £38m for his services, which means that a deal is more likely to be done once Saints have secured their Premier League status, and when they may be able to negotiate a better deal.

Check out Neymar's controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you've never seen him before in the video below...