Southampton were close to signing Joakim Maehle last summer and as he continues to star for Denmark at Euro 2020, it appears that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side missed out on a potential gem.
Southampton were strongly linked with the full-back in last summer’s transfer window but a fee could not be agreed with Belgian side KRC Genk, and he would join Atalanta in the winter transfer window for a fee of just €10m (£8.6m).
The 24-year-old is usually deployed as a right-back but has played every game for Denmark at the Euros as a left-back, and has certainly caught the eye with his displays, contributing two goals and one assist, averaging a superb 7.52 rating from WhoScored for his performances.
Maehle has been one of the stars of the tournament for Kasper Hjulmand’s side, and will be one to watch once again as they line up against England in the semi-final at Wembley on Wednesday evening.
[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]
He provided one of the assists of the tournament in their 2-1 win against the Czech Republic in the quarter-final, crossing with the outside of his foot for Kasper Dolberg to score, and former England international Ian Wright sang his praises after the game, saying:
“Maehle has been fantastic in this tournament.
“He has scored the last couple of games but that is probably one of the passes of the tournament so far for me.”
Considering he can feature on either side of the defence, he could’ve been an ideal signing for Hasenhuttl’s side last season, as he would’ve provided competition for both Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker-Peters, with Southampton’s form noticeably poorer when Walker-Peters was sidelined with injury.
Given Maehle’s performances for club and country, it could definitely be considered something of a disaster by Saints CEO Martin Semmens to not bring him to St Mary’s, as his showing at Euro 2020 suggests that he would have been an ideal addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad last season.
And, in other news… Southampton dealt huge blow with gem with “enormous potential”