Southampton Opinion: Saints wanted Willi Orban in January – a bad miss?
According to a report from the Daily Mail, Southampton were interested in signing RB Leipzig defender Willi Orban in January. However, a move didn’t materialise and the Saints failed to add any defensive reinforcements to their squad.
Willi Orban, 26, helped RB Leipzig finish as runners-up behind Bayern Munich in 2016/17 in current Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first season in the Bundesliga. Leipzig also qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Ralph Hasenhuttl has undoubtedly made a big impact since taking over from Mark Hughes at Southampton. But his Southampton side are still fighting tooth and nail against relegation. The Saints sit 18th on the table after losing to fellow strugglers Cardiff City 2-1 at the weekend.
In a bid to stay in the Premier League, Southampton have to stop leaking goals, especially in the crucial junctures of the game.
They could have got a point out of the Cardiff game at the weekend but the Saints defence got exposed once again in stoppage time, leaving Hasenhuttl absolutely furious on the touchline.
The likes of Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens and Jannik Vestergaard have all been extremely inconsistent for Southampton this season, dishing out error-strewn performances. And that’s probably why Hasenhuttl wanted Willi Orban in January to tighten his porous defence.
In Orban, Southampton’s defence would have got a defender of the highest quality. Known for his game-reading, tackling and passing abilities, the Hungary international is a cool and composed defender and knows to tackle pressure situations.
The 26-year-old is strong in the air, robust in the challenge and possesses fantastic leadership skills – something that the Saints defence is lacking.
Orban is a dominant centre-back and he would have been a vocal presence at the heart of Southampton’s defence that continues to leak in goals at an alarming rate. Having earlier worked with Hasenhuttl at Leipzig, there was also very little risk attached to the defender’s signing.
Conclusion
Things don’t get any easier for Southampton, with games against Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham all to come soon. So if Southampton are to move away from the drop zone over the next month or so, they have to be clinical in front of goal and most importantly, be rock solid while defending.
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All things considered, it would have been so better for Hasenhuttl and Saints had they got the Orban deal over the line last month.