Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl says he has been impressed with his younger players since he arrived at the club.
The 51-year-old Austrian replaced Mark Hughes in December with the club in danger of being sucked into a relegation battle, but has picked up 15 points in his 10 games in charge.
His high-pressing game has seen him favour younger players at the expense of more experienced ones, with Manolo Gabbiadini and Steven Davis departing permanently, and Wesley Hoedt and Cedric Soares being sent out on loan.
Callum Slattery, Yan Valery, Sam Gallagher, and Kayne Ramsay have all seen game time and Hasenhuttl says their impact means they did not have to go out and sign anyone in January.
“I know there were some voices that said ‘we don’t sign players in the transfer period’ but we played with a lot of young players and Callum Slattery had his first game in the Premier League,” he told reporters.
“We have a lot of new players signed from our own youth team and Slat is another one of the good young guys in our club. “Maybe we didn’t sign a new player but we have four or five young players who have made their first steps in professional football; players like Valery, Ramsay and Slattery.
“They can be our future. Although we didn’t sign a new player, for me we have a different team now.”
