Southampton already have their eye on January when it comes to defensive additions
Worryingly, in league action so far this season, Southampton are yet to keep a clean sheet.
Daniel Peretz prided himself on collecting Championship clean sheets for fun last season, when initially joining the club on loan from Bayern Munich, but he is yet to shut out a single opposition team so far this season in league action, with Lincoln City grabbing a late equaliser last time out in a 1-1 draw.
With no Taylor Harwood-Bellis in central defence anymore, Tonda Eckert's men have looked slightly ropey, with the draw at the Imps singling out some poor performers at the back.
Southampton's poor defensive performance vs Lincoln
Before delving into the poor defensive displays at Sincil Bank, it is worth mentioning that Welington, when coming into the team for Ryan Manning, put in a blinding performance.
He scored an unbelievable goal to break the deadlock, as he smashed home his first ever Saints strike on the 44th minute mark. Away from this goal of the season worthy strike, he also won his fair share of tackles and duels.
Keven Schlotterbeck also continued his fine start to life in Saints red and white with another polished showing in Lincolnshire, with seven duels valiantly won against a physically challenging opponent.
Unfortunately, though, Jack Stephens didn't look quiet as certain in the air, with only three of his aerial duels won.
It was a shock that the error-prone number five was even selected for the Saturday lunchtime showdown, but it was the player who replaced him late on in Nathan Wood who had an even more sorry afternoon.
Wood, who is more well-known for his ball playing abilities, was thrown into the game with six minutes left of normal time, in a call Eckert must now regret.
The one-time Swansea City defender would fail to be aggressive and he allowed Mikkel Ladefoged plenty of space to head home for 1-1.
With Zach Abbott at Eckert's disposal, now, it will be interesting to see what centre-back partnership the German goes with for the clash against Swansea City.
Reports suggest, as well, that the South Coast giants already have an eye on the January transfer window, with a new centre-back tickling their fancy, allegedly, from Poland.
Southampton's centre-back target in January
As per transfer outlet On the Minute, Southampton, alongside Sunderland, are keeping tabs on Lech Poznan defender, Wojciech Mońka, ahead of a move in January.
The report states that Mońka would be viewed as a long-term investment for both teams, which makes sense, with Abbott only on a season long loan as a back-up option.
With the Saints failing to keep clean sheets, too, it wouldn't be a shock if a move for the Poznan-born teenager whirred into motion in January, with the 19-year-old very highly regarded in his native Poland.
Indeed, he has been noted as being a "pillar" of the Ekstraklasa champions' defence by the Polish media, with an impressive six clean sheets collected in league action last season, from 19 games, as Poznan won their tenth title.
Averaging a calm 91% pass accuracy during this memorable title-winning season, as well, he would fit in, if he were to uproot from Poznan to Southampton, with Eckert loving a centre-back who can pass comfortably.
Further noted as being "one of the best centre-backs in the entire league" during the 2025/26 campaign, it would be viewed as a coup if the Saints could win Mońka's services, with Premier League interest also on the table.
Of course, this could all just be speculation, and nothing concrete.
But, with the likes of Wood and Stephens prone to wobbles, and Abbott leaving the building at the end of his loan deal, adding in Mońka in January checks out as a plausible mid-season foray, with the Poznan number 27 tipped for a very bright future.
