RALPH Hasenhuttl says Saints "are in the market" for new players this month, but insists: "We are looking more for positions maybe for the future."

There are less than three weeks to go until the transfer window closes again, with Saints yet to add any players this month.

This time last year, Hasenhuttl bolstered his first-team squad with the loan addition of Kyle Walker-Peters from Tottenham.

Saints then made that move permanent for around £12million in the summer.

Asked if Saints are looking for players to strengthen the squad this month, Hasenhuttl said: "Yes, we are in the market. But at the moment we are looking more for positions maybe for the future.

"We know we have some issues and this means that we have our eyes open. But we also know at the moment we are in a situation where every club is really struggling with money.

"We have to take care of the future. That is the reason why we have set ourselves the limits that we are able to handle.

"We must be very clear if we really need something.

"I think in the last games we had eight academy players on the bench. This is the way we have to go at the moment to minimise the risk and I think to risk something in the winter transfer window, it isn’t 100 per cent necessary for us.

"If we do something then we do it as a package for the future, like we did last time with Kyle Walker-Peters, where we signed him first on loan, to have a look if he could help us and then we signed him in the summer when we also maybe had a few players out and we can then speak about a fixed signing."