SPEED is king in the Premier League and club legend Matt Le Tissier says Saints have added the pace they need to progress as a side. 

Ralph Hasenhüttl has injected his squad with speedy additions to try and improve on their 16th placed finish. 

Che Adams has joined from Birmingham City and Moussa Djenepo from Standard Liege, signings St Mary’s icon Le Tissier believes can make them a more dynamic outfit. 

“Southampton have strengthened pretty well,” he said.

“Ralph identified the areas of the squad that were a bit lacking and pace was one of the big things, so we’ve brought in a couple of players who’ve got that in abundance. 

“They are both pretty quick, pretty strong players and hopefully they make a big difference to the team. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing them in action. I saw Che play for the first time last week and he scored after about 20 seconds so he made a good first impression!

“I watched a bit of Djenepo in the African Cup of Nations and I’m excited by him. He has good delivery on him and he’ll chip in with a few goals. He could be a useful addition.”

Adams was prolific for Birmingham City in the Championship last season, scoring 22 goals and leading the line with aplomb.

Le Tissier, who scored over 200 goals in red & white, believes getting off the mark with a goal in the early stages of the season will be vital if the 23-year-old is to be a success in the top flight. 

“Adams has scored three or four times in pre-season already and hopefully he can use that as a springboard to get in the team,” said Le Tissier.

“It’ll be important to get on the scoresheet early in the season – for a striker at a new club, in a new league, it’s really important he gets off the mark early on.

“If he can score between 15-20 goals this season then he will already be worth the money we paid for him and he still has a lot of improvement left in him still as he is a good age.”

Genuine width has been hard to come by at Southampton of late and Djenepo, who starred despite Mali’s exit in the round of 16 at the African Cup of Nations, looks a fine acquisition. 

Despite only three players being added, the Saints squad looks somewhat bloated and some departures are likely before next week’s transfer deadline. 

Le Tissier believes for any further signings to be made there must also be outgoings to balance the books. 

“I think the squad is quite top-heavy at the moment so if we are going to get any more in, you might need to see a few shipped out first to get the funds in,” he said.

“I’m sure they’ve got targets in mind in that area but I think the finances will dictate that.

“We’re not in a position as a football club to go and spent 40 or 50 million pounds on a player. We have to be a bit more selective.”

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