Ronald Koeman expressed his delight after Southampton bolstered their attacking options with the £4m signing of Charlie Austin from Queens Park Rangers, although the Dutchman struck a note of caution when he said that the striker will need time to recover from a hamstring injury that has kept him out for a month.
Concerns over Austin’s injury record meant he stayed at QPR last summer, despite scoring 18 Premier League goals for a side that was relegated. The 26-year-old has not played since 15 December.
Southampton, however, were undeterred and although Austin is out of contract in the summer they decided to stump up the cash for their main transfer target now. The deal was completed shortly before they moved into the top half of the table with a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at St Mary’s.
“We have Monday and Tuesday and he will have tests about his fitness and then we know how fit the player is,” Koeman said. “Is he close to being part of the team or maybe he needs more time to be 100%? The most important thing is he is without any problems for his fitness and ready to be part of the team.”
Koeman was clear when he was asked what he wants from Austin, who has scored 10 goals for QPR this season. “I hope goals because that’s the reason why he was and is our target for the transfer window,” he said. “We need a player like him. His numbers of goals, everybody knows. Still he is 26 and it is good to have him now because that’s good for the adaptation. It gives more competition. What we try to do is try to make the squad stronger.”
Shane Long and Graziano Pellè have been linked with moves away from Southampton but Koeman does not want to sell anyone this month.
