Recovering from an injury ravaged month was always going to bring a renewed wave of optimism for Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Throughout the month of January, each press conference seemed to bring more bad news. Every scheduled meeting yielded either an injury concern or another bone of contention – infact, most of the time it was both.

But in his final pre-match media call of the month, frowns and anguish had turned to smiles and laughter. On Friday afternoon, the Saints boss began with a grin on his face, recounting the news that Moussa Djenepo and Oriol Romeu were back after injury and available for the upcoming clash with Aston Villa. Hasenhuttl hopes it is the start of the squad returning to full fitness and functioning back at their optimal:

“We want to win this game. Villa still have I think one game less than we have. They have played a strong season so far. A good team, good side, good players. We played one of our best games in the first game I think against them for 60 mins it was fantastic and then in the end, not so good. But it’s good for us to have a few more alternatives, then hopefully win a game with the right game plan.”

“Kyle (Walker-Peters) still needs a little bit of time, I don’t know how long, but definitely he won’t be available for this game on the weekend. Therefore, we have to find another solution on the right side.”

The Austrian later confirmed Jake Vokins would be heading out on loan to Sunderland, with the return of Ryan Bertrand and ongoing transfer dealings set to limit the 20-year-old’s action in the first team. The left-back had featured in Saints’ defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday evening, standing in for the suspended Bertrand:

“Jake is going because I think at the moment it’s better for him to get a little bit more games to develop,” Hasenhuttl revealed. “What we saw in the last game was that he is missing the games and the challenges. I have no chance to give him these opportunities.

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It is understood Southampton are continuing to explore and assess options in the loan market, with their ongoing search for a multi-faceted full-back a key priority. Hasenhuttl admitted Southampton were hoping to bring in a player that could play in either of the two full-back positions and perhaps central midfield.

A player that would match Saints’ criteria is Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who is reported to now be the club’s primary target. It is also believed to be Arsenal’s favoured destination for the player. That sentiment is echoed by manager Mikel Arteta, who shares the collective view that playing under someone like Ralph Hasenhuttl would prove highly-beneficial to the England International.

The move would be a deal until the summer and would likely come on the back of fending away interest from West Brom and others to secure Maitland-Niles’ signature. There remains plenty of loose ends to tie up if a deal is to be completed before the deadline.

“It is also right we are looking for a replacement (for Vokins). There is nothing to say about it yet but we have a few names in our mind that we want to look at. (It is) still possible. We have a few days to go and we hope that we get another signing. Maybe on loan until the summer.”

On Friday, meanwhile, Will Smallbone underwent surgery on his ruptured ACL. The midfielder is expected to be out for the rest of the season.

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