Southampton FC should deploy scouts to watch these three players this month | OneFootball

Highlights

Following relegation from the top-flight last season, Southampton are vying for an immediate Premier League return, and now that the January transfer window is upon the Saints and their Championship rivals, manager Russell Martin must bolster his squad to maintain the team's promotion push.

The Saints had a successful opening half of the Championship campaign, placing themselves firmly in the promotion picture despite enduring a rocky start to the season, with four consecutive defeats in September.

Martin's side beat fellow promotion candidates Leeds United at the end of September, and then remarkably went unbeaten for the rest of 2023, which has put them in good stead to make their Premier League return.

But the second half of the Championship season offers a different challenge to that of the first, and as teams battle for success on their respective fronts, whether that is avoiding relegation, making a play-off push, or automatic promotion, games become more intense as the season goes on, which makes January reinforcements a necessity for all.

These are the three players the Saints should be scouting this month:

Matt Grimes

As the season wares on, injuries in key areas of the pitch such as central midfield are unfortunately inevitable, but Matt Grimes is a reliable player who is almost always available for selection.

He started every single one of Swansea's matches in the first half of the Championship campaign, and has a proven track record when it comes to being ever present.

Last season, Grimes started in 44 of the Swans' 46 matches in the second tier, and started in every single match of the 2021-22 Championship campaign, but reliability is far from the only asset the 28-year-old boasts.

Having played under Martin during the Saints manager's tenure in South Wales, Grimes knows the style of play expected of a player at the St Mary's outfit and possesses metronomic qualities. As per Fotmob, he boasted an impressive pass accuracy of 91.2% last campaign, which suggests he would fit right in at the Saints, who love to control possession.

The former Exeter man also has a creative edge to his game, and provided one goal and seven assists for the Swans last campaign, and the Saints would benefit from this sort of creativity.

The Saints are strong in the full-back department, and arguably have the best duo of full-backs in the Championship at their disposal in the form of Ryan Manning and Kyle Walker-Peters.

However, as the games come thick and fast in the second half of a grueling second-tier season, rotation all over the pitch may be necessary.

Ng could be a great option, and his consistent performances for Cardiff demonstrate the footballing qualities the 27-year-old has in abundance, as the star provided two goals and two assists from his right-back position this season.

Martin should assess and send scouts to watch quality full-backs such as Ng as it is an area where the Saints arguably need more strength in depth. Meanwhile, interest in starman Kyle Walker-Peters will not go away.

In the event of a Walker-Peters departure this window, a new right-back will become a necessity for Martin, and Ng is one of the best options the Championship has to offer in this area of defence.

The 22-year-old has been one of the best players in the Dutch Eredivisie this campaign, and managed an impressive tally of 10 goals and two assists from an attacking midfield position for FC Twente prior to this season's winter break in the Netherlands.

The Saints are strong in the attacking midfield department, but there is always room for improvement, and Steijn is a player with a real eye for goal who the Hampshire outfit should consider looking at.

Steijn could also be a great signing for the long-term at just 22 years old, and while talisman Adam Armstrong may be prolific in the Championship, his Premier League goalscoring record is less than satisfactory after the ace scored just two goals in the top-flight last season.

A goalscoring midfield talent such as Steijn could ease the workload for Armstrong in the Premier League, should the Saints earn promotion, and the 22-year-old would be a welcome presence in the Championship too.