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Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was questioned about the futures of Mario Lemina and Manolo Gabbiadini during Thursday’s Huddersfield Town pre-match press conference, and his comments appeared to all-but confirm that the latter will be on his way out of St Mary’s during the January transfer window.

What did he say?

Well, when the 51-year-old was questioned about speculation linking the duo with exits this week, as quoted by The Daily Echo, he replied:

“No one here is uncomfortable at the moment and if he does we find a solution.

“Lemina is a very important player for us, one of our best players, and though he’s not 100 per cent fit I need him.

“The other guys we don’t want to speak about speculation. The players know what they have, what they can expect from us and that’s the main part.”

What do his comments mean?

The fact that he was asked about Gabbiadini’s future but barely spoke about him – and waxed lyrical about Lemina at the same time – speaks volumes.

The Italy international has struggled to be a regular fixture in the starting XI under Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes prior to Hasenhuttl’s arrival at St Mary’s, and the early signs are that he finds himself in a similar situation under the 51-year-old.

Youngster Tyreke Johnson made the substitutes’ bench ahead of him for the 3-2 win against Arsenal on Sunday, and it seems likely that the south coast outfit want to cash in on the 26-year-old while he is still valued highly by clubs in Italy, as well as getting his reported £80,000-a-week wages off of the books.

Selling Gabbiadini for a decent fee would also then allow Hasenhuttl to act in the market in January, and perhaps even bring his own striker to Southampton.

Check out the video below for Emma Conybeare’s rundown of which clubs need what in the January transfer window…