Koeman: Southampton needed player like Austin

Mark Holmes
Charlie Austin: Watched Southampton's win over West Brom

Charlie Austin: Watched Southampton's win over West Brom

Ronald Koeman says Southampton have needed a player like Charlie Austin and are now prepared for next season too after landing the striker from QPR.

The 26-year-old striker, who scored 18 goals in the Premier League for QPR last season, signed for Saints in a cut-price £4million deal on Saturday morning.

“I hope he will bring goals, that’s why he was our target for this transfer window,” said Saints boss Koeman.

“I think we need a player like him, everybody knows his number of goals. He’s still only 26 and it’s good to have him in now. It’s good for the other players and it’s good to see what his physical state is.

“He gives us more competition. We are always trying to make the squad stronger and signing that sort of player is very important.

“Every Premier League team has competition. And at the moment Graziano Pelle is still not 100 per cent fit, Jay Rodriguez is not training, so if something happened to Shane Long we’d have no one up front.

“Now we are also prepared for next season. He is here now and it’s good for the boy. He needs to adapt to how we work and he’ll know everything for next season.”

Saints certainly appear to have picked up a bargain, with relegated Rangers asking £15million for Austin last summer.

But Koeman added: “I don’t talk about money, that’s not my job. We said to the board that he was the number-one target and I’m very pleased Charlie is a Southampton player.”