Southampton bolstered their defensive options with the signing of Dutch international Wesley Hoedt from Lazio for an undisclosed fee, reportedly worth £15 million.
The 23-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Saints, and gave an insight as to what we can expect from him during his time at St Mary’s:
“I’m a strong, physical central defender with qualities on the ball. My main task will be defending, but hopefully, I can add those qualities on the ball to Southampton.”
The History
Hoedt joined hometown club AZ Alkmaar at the age of 11 and progressed through the club’s academy to make his senior debut in a UEFA Europa League match against PAOK in December 2013.
He established himself in the first-team squad the following season and made 24 league appearances, scoring twice.
The defender agreed to join Lazio on a free transfer in the summer of 2015 and featured regularly in Serie A over 24 starts.
The Dutchman found it difficult to break into the XI at the start of last season, but was a regular during the second half of the campaign, scoring two goals in 23 league outings.
Hoedt represented Holland at U20 and U21 levels, making 10 appearances, before making his senior debut against Bulgaria in March this year.
He has started five of Holland’s last six matches and looks to have emerged as a first choice option for his country.
The Prospects
A ball-playing centre-back with an impressive left foot, Hoedt looks to have the credentials to be a huge asset for Southampton.
Indeed, he displays many of the same characteristics as compatriot Virgil van Dijk, who, against the odds, still remains a Southampton player following the passing of last Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Hoedt has the ability to switch play with accurate long diagonal passes and is strong in the tackle.
Still only 23, he has good experience from his time in both Holland and Italy, and should warrant a regular starting berth at St Mary’s.
Saints have started the season strongly at the back, keeping clean sheets in two of their three matches.
Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens have been a solid pairing in central defence, flanked by full-backs Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares.
They have only given up four big chances, although they do rank joint-fourth for the most penalty area attempts conceded with 28.
Mauricio Pellegrino decided to name Hoedt on the bench for last weekend’s goalless draw with Huddersfield Town, but is likely to turn to the Dutch defender sooner rather than later.
Looking at the underlying statistics of the three central defenders last season, Hoedt only averaged a clearance, block or interception every 13.2 minutes.
That was inferior to both Yoshida (10.1) and Stephens (12).
However, standing at 6ft 2 in tall, Hoedt did win an incredible 84% of his aerial duels, which was considerably better than both Yoshida (57%) and Stephens (43%).
That alone could be enough to warrant him coming straight into the starting XI – Saints have conceded more headed chances (14) than any other side so far.
At the other end of the pitch, Hoedt averaged a shot every 94.1 minutes, superior to both Yoshida (138) and Stephens (367.25).
Hoedt has scored six goals in senior football and may well provide more of an atacking threat than Stephens and Yoshida, although the latter has caught the eye so far, registering four shots already.
As the senior centre-back, and having just signed a new contract, Yoshida may be the more likely to retain his start in central defence.
But the Japanese defender has played all three matches this season as the left-sided centre-back – the position which Hoedt should take up, which perhaps offers a little hope to Stephens’ 0.9% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Yoshida and Stephens owners could be best advised to hold for the time being, until we see who Pellegrino chooses for the Gameweek 4 home meeting with Watford.
Matters are complicated further by Van Dijk’s failure to see a deadline day move. Reports today confirmed that he was back training with the full squad having been forced to work alone in solo sessions to this point.
The article speculates that Pellegrino will provide an update on his status prior to the Gameweek 4 meeting with Watford. It also states that Van Dijk will require reserve team action before threatening to be a factor in the starting XI. Even so, with the possibility that he will be an additional option, it is clear that the situation in the centre of the Southampton defence is far from certain.
Their schedule remains very favourable (WAT cpl MUN sto NEW WBA bha BUR) all the way up to Gameweek 11, so owning one of their back four, or even Fraser Forster in goal, looks advisable.
Hoedt has been priced at 5.0 in FPL, in line with Yoshida, Stephens and Cedric, with Ryan Bertrand more expensive at 5.5.
That has us lean towards Cedric at right-back as the best option right now, both in terms of value and as a more assured starter than any of the centre-backs.
The Portuguese international has also offered a strong attacking threat so far, registering four shots (three from inside the penalty area) and producing more crosses (16) than any other Saints player.
In the Sky Sports game, Hoedt is priced at 7.5, cheaper than Bertrand, Cedric and Yoshida but more than Stephens, who has provided excellent value so far at just 6.5.
Given the significant outlay made on the Dutch defender, there appears little doubt he will eventually be considered for starts by Pellegrino.
While the Saints boss is a firm advocate of the 4-2-3-1 formation, he did use a five-man defence on nine occasions while in charge at Alaves last season, so there is a chance he is considering starting with three centre-backs.
Vice-chairman of football Les Reed spoke of Hoedt’s signing adding flexibility to Pellegrino’s centre-back options, so with Cedric and Bertrand appearing well-suited to the wing-back positions, such a change can’t be ruled out.
The next few matches – along with Pellegrino’s comments on Van Dijk – should reveal more on the prospects for Hoedt, Stephens and Yoshida. However, it’s unlikely that any update will prevent us from prioritising the Saints’ full-backs from this point on.
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