According to reports in the Daily Mail, Southampton are lining up a move for Lazio centre-back Wesley Hoedt as a potential replacement for Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk.
The Daily Mail says that the south coast outfit are preparing for the departure of their captain, with the £60m-rated star due to discuss his future with the club this week after previously telling them he wants to leave this summer.
The 26-year-old spent last week training on his own at Saints’ Staplewood base after he was left out of the squad that travelled to France as part of their pre-season preparations by manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
Liverpool have already been forced to issue an official apology to Southampton after being accused of tapping up the Dutchman, but it hasn’t stopped the rumours that the centre-back could still move to Anfield before the window closes at the end of the month.
The Daily Mail says that Southampton have opened talks with Lazio over Hoedt, and they are now considering a £12m bid for yet another Netherlands international.
Here are three reasons Hoedt is the ideal Van Dijk replacement…
Defensive abilities
While he wasn’t a regular in the Lazio side in Serie A last season – he spent two spells on the substitutes’ bench as he struggled to break into the side past Stefen de Vrij, Bastos and Wallace – Hoedt still made 23 Italian top flight appearances and he showed his defensive qualities.
The 23-year-old made 109 clearances and 23 interceptions in those outings, while he successfully won 22 tackles.
Van Dijk has proven during his 18 months on the field for Southampton how good he is from a defensive point of view, but his Dutch counterpart has certainly shown that he can be a Premier League success too.
In possession
Van Dijk has quickly established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League during his time at St Mary’s, and much of that is to do with how comfortable he is in possession and at bringing the ball out of defence before finding the right pass.
Hoedt showed a similar ability for Lazio in Serie A last season, with a passing accuracy of 87% in his 23 appearances, while he showed his ability to not only clear the ball but also take it forward before distributing it by successfully completing six of the seven take-ons he attempted.
Strength in the air
At 6’4” tall, Van Dijk has proved himself to be one of the strongest centre-backs in the air in the Premier League since he moved to Saints from Celtic two years ago.
The Southampton captain won 96 headed duels in 21 English top flight appearances last term before suffering a season-ending injury against Leicester City in January.
Hoedt stands at just under 6’4” himself however, and he also showed how good he can be at beating his opponents in the air by successfully winning 52 of the 62 aerial duels he faced in 23 Serie A outings during the previous campaign.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.
