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A report in The Daily Express on Tuesday said that new Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is lining up what would be an ambitious January move for £30m-rated RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano, and his arrival at St Mary's would likely have big implications for the club and some of its current players.

On the chalkboard

Well, one of the reasons Saints find themselves in trouble is because they can't keep it tight at the back and are prone to defensive errors, and with 30 goals conceded in 16 Premier League matches so far this term they sit 19th in the standings.

Former boss Mark Hughes dabbled formations that incorporated two and three centre-backs, but whoever has appeared in the starting XI has largely looked uncomfortable or likely to make a mistake, with Maya Yoshida, Wesley Hoedt and Jannik Vestergaard just a few of the culprits at the heart of the south coast outfit's defence.

The latter produced a dreadful back-pass which led to the Cardiff City goal in his side's 1-0 defeat against their fellow top flight strugglers last weekend, and despite being highly-rated on his arrival from the Bundesliga in the summer he has visibly found it difficult to make the transition.

What would Upamecano's arrival mean?

Hasenhuttl would have been less than impressed with Vestergaard's mistake that cost his new team a point on Saturday, and the addition of the highly-rated Upamecano would surely push the Dane further down the pecking order.

Bringing the 20-year-old to St Mary's will be a tough task, but seeing as the Austrian manager has worked with him before it perhaps shouldn’t be ruled out, even if he would cost an astronomical fee that would break their transfer record.

With the likes of Yoshida, Hoedt, Vestergaard, Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek – who outshone his centre-back partner in south Wales – already competing for two spots, signing Upamecano would surely push the 26-year-old Denmark international towards a swift Southampton exit.