BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted Saints were still keen to recruit a full-back during this transfer window.

The St Mary’s side could be without both of their first-choice full-backs for the visit of Arsenal in the Premier League tomorrow (8.15pm).

Left-back Ryan Bertrand is suspended having picked up five top-flight bookings, while right-back Kyle Walker-Peters is a serious doubt having sustained a quad injury in training.

Youngsters Yan Valery and Jake Vokins could step up to deputise in the full-back positions against the Gunners but Hasenhuttl said the club were still searching for more reinforcement.

Quizzed on whether he was still looking to add a full-back to his squad during this transfer window, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: “We are still looking, yes.

“We know that we have not the most experience to replace them (Walker-Peters and Bertrand) so we need a good package, if we want to make us stronger in this position.

“You never know. You see how quick it can go and suddenly you lose both and then you are a little bit out of experience in this position.

“It’s sometimes important to have a good replacement there.

“Losing players from the first XI is never nice but can never be the biggest issue. We always have to be able to replace them and to stay strong.”

The transfer window for Premier League teams is set to slam shut on Monday, February 1 (11pm).

Clubs face difficult challenges regarding recruitment amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Hasenhuttl believing managers are looking to keep hold of their fringe players in case of a virus outbreak.

Asked whether he is hopeful that situation would change in the final week of trading, he said: “Still hopeful because the more it comes to the end of the transfer window the more pressure players also make on their clubs, because they want to leave.

“When you have no perspective anymore, not even part of the squad it’s also not good for the club to keep them because when they are not playing them, they are not getting better.

“They lose worth and in the end must be a win-win-win situation for everybody, the best thing to do and I’m still hopeful, yes.”