Panic buy or somebody who can make a meaningful contribution?

That has been the question surrounding Martin Caceres since Saints moved to bring him in for the rest of the season.

With Jose Fonte sold in January, and then the unfortunate injury to Virgil van Dijk, there is no doubt that Saints were light in the centre half department.

Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida have performed admirably, but with only Florin Gardos as frontline back-up, Saints knew they needed to act.

The obvious thing to do was to recruit in the January window.

However, prices fluctuated, minds were changed elsewhere, and the prospect of getting a deal done disappeared as the hours rolled on on deadline day.

Queue a bit of panic amongst the fans, compounded by a bad day at the defensive office as Saints were beaten 3-1 by West Ham at St Mary’s, and suddenly the need for another central defender seemed of paramount importance.

With only an out of contract player then able to sign, Caceres appeared the most appealing option.

Alright, he hadn’t played a competitive game in more than a year, and part of that time had been spent recovering from a serious injury, but you don’t get a footballing CV containing the likes of Juventus, Barcelona and 68 caps for the Uruguayan national team without a fair bit of pedigree.

Saints brought him in but a wait for a work permit followed by a tragic personal problem meant he was unable to join up in time for the Premier League match against Sunderland, which effectively also ruled him out of the EFL Cup final.

Though Saints have shipped more goals of late, some improved performances against Sunderland, the brave display at Wembley and a good win at Watford have really eased the panic that had engulfed the centre half position at the club.

Caceres is already here though, signed, sealed, delivered, and, by all accounts, being well rewarded financially to cover the gap.

However, given the way things have fallen, it suddenly appears questionable whether he will provide value for money with only a maximum of 12 first team games he could play in between now and the end of the season.

He at least answered some questions by getting through a first 90 minutes at St Mary’s last night for the under-23s against Chelsea.

It was difficult to get a real gauge on his fitness, or his sharpness, given he wasn’t up against anything particularly threatening for a player of his calibre.

What was obvious was his quality on the ball, and the fact he has clearly played a high level.

His first thought in possession wasn’t to look sideways and safe, but to face forward, to try and play an incisive pass, or to carry the ball himself.

Caceres particularly linked up with Sofiane Boufal, playing the Dusan Tadic role in the 4-2-3-1 and dropping deep, knowing he could always get a sharp pass into feet quickly from his new colleague.

He also showed a fleetness of foot inside his own box, not least when he produced an outrageous turn to totally flummox a Chelsea attack and calmly ease the danger.

There was also a chance for a first start for another new signing, goalkeeper Mouez Hassen.

The rumours on the grapevine have been that he might even get a first team appearance before the end of the season. Claude Puel likes the French youngster and might want a look at him under real pressure before his time at the club is also up at the end of the campaign.

He was solid enough, certainly looked like the ball playing, calm passing keeper from the back that Puel likes. Assessing his shot stopping will have to wait for another day. Indeed, Saints may have liked him to see a bit more action than he did.

That was a little unlikely though, given the respective strength of the teams.

When these sides met in the reverse fixture earlier in the season a young Saints team came up against a Blues side containing the likes of John Terry and Cesc Fabregas.

With Chelsea’s title chasing first team in action against West Ham last night, it was they who had youngsters up against first teamers like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sofiane Boufal, Harrison Reed, Josh Sims, Jake Hesketh and Jay Rodriguez.

It was valuable match action for them as Puel tries to ward off the danger of some players kicking their heels in terms of match action for weeks, even months, given the current scarcity of first team fixtures and the lack of requirement for any rotation.

For those players this was an exercise in retaining fitness and a competitive edge rather than forcing themselves onto the teamsheet for Tottenham.

The game itself wasn’t much to write home about, having more of a training ground feel to it as is often the case in these situations.

It threatened to be lively in the early stages, Kyle Scott firing wide for Chelsea and Rodriguez forcing Bradley Collins into a near post save.

However, after that initial flurry, chances were few and far between.

Hassen’s only save to make came on 24 minutes as he dived to his right to turn Harvey St Clair’s low drive wide.

At the other end Rodriguez fired over before Sims saw his shot across goal turned behind after a brilliant volleyed pass from Reed.

The best of the second half openings also fell to Saints.

Rodriguez started a move and continued his run into the box. Sims cut back from the right and Rodriguez’s shot was blocked to Hesketh eight yards out but he made a mess of his effort and ballooned it off target.

Sub Tyreke Johnson fired in a near post effort but Collins stood firm to beat it away.

It meant it finished honours even, but this match was much less about the result than the game time and performances of some star players, not least Caceres, who has now done all he can to try and stake a claim to make a real impact at Tottenham a week on Sunday.

Teams

Saints: Hassen, Valery, Caceres, Jones, McQueen, Reed, Sims, Hojbjerg, Hesketh, Boufal (Johnson 58), Rodriguez.

Chelsea: Collins, Sterling, Nartey, Chalobah, Grant, Scott, Kane, Maddox, Ugbo, Mount, St Clair (Davies 90).