Time has not yet come to put Mauricio Pellegrino’s work under scanner but there has been very little change since he took up the Southampton job. A sense of hope arrived amongst the supporters following the departure of Claude Puel who seemed to have gained very little support in his brief tenure.
Pellegrino is known for his attacking visionary which matches the club’s intent but results haven’t shaped as they would have hoped. Southampton remained quiet in the transfer window and the manager opted to refrain himself from doing much business as he had faith on his attacking lineups.
According to reports, Southampton are planning to raid Napoli for the services of Kalidou Koulibaly. The defender has been a transfer-window hotshot in the last couple of seasons and the Saints are looking to bring him to St Mary’s in near future.
Wesley Hoedt has acclimatized himself quite beautifully but the form of Virgil van Dijk is a concern for the manager. The Dutch defender has been frozen by the club as he is in the middle of a transfer saga with Liverpool in the summer.
But since he has returned, his erratic form in the Saints backline has let the club down and now Pellegrino is hunting an adequate cover for him. It’s a possibility that the player might leave in January so Pellegrino doesn’t want to take any chances and is readying a backup.
Napoli have been in tremendous form this season and are one of the title contenders currently in the Serie A. Koulibaly has emerged as a star with his brand of no-nonsense defending under the stewardship of Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri.
He can build up an attack from the back as he has an enormous passing range and has excelled in this ball playing defender role. Aerially also, he can challenge anyone and defensively he is very sound.
Pellegrino likes to play an attacking football which means he needs to be tight with his defence and having a defender like Koulibaly would only boost his confidence. The Senegalese international has gone from strength to strength and has all the necessary qualities to become one of the best defenders in the European circuit.
Chelsea and Everton are also keeping a tab on the Player. Southampton might have to break the club record fee to rope him in but if they manage to sell van Dijk, they might be able to pull off a coup. But can they persuade Koulibaly to move to St Mary’s?
