Southampton have pulled off an ‘impressive signing’ in the shape of defender Duje Caleta-Car, according to journalist Dean Jones.
The 25-year-old was brought in from Marseille on transfer deadline day, fending off competition from fellow Premier League outfit West Ham United in the process.
What is the latest news involving Caleta-Car?
It was a hectic end to a busy summer for Southampton, who brought in Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Juan Larios and Sam Edozie alongside Caleta-Car on Thursday.
And manager Ralph Hasenhuttl appeared to be particularly pleased with the capture of the centre-back, who signed a four-year contract with the south coast club upon his arrival.
“Duje is already a very established and experienced player, who has done an impressive job at his previous clubs,” said the Austrian tactician.
“He is a big presence on the pitch, and he will bring even more quality into our centre-back group. It is important we have good depth and options in this position, and he gives us another very strong one.”
Caleta-Car signed for an undisclosed fee after entering the final year of his £47,000-per-week contract with Marseille and will replace Jan Bednarek, who joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan deal.
What has Jones said about Caleta-Car?
Southampton have often targeted young signings in recent years, bringing in the likes of Tino Livramento, Romeo Lavia and Gavin Bazunu.
Yet Caleta-Car is set to enter his prime years, and Jones believes he is a player of ‘major quality’, giving the Saints fans reasons to get excited.
He told GiveMeSport: “West Ham would have been expecting Saints to secure Caleta-Car as they discovered he was a long way down the road in negotiating with them. This is a player of major quality and is an impressive signing.”
Is Caleta-Car a good signing?
Caleta-Car has racked up 19 goal contributions in 297 appearances across all competitions for the likes of Marseille and Red Bull Salzburg throughout his career, claiming seven major trophies along the way.
As per FBref, the 6 foot 4 giant has also ranked in the 97th percentile for attempted passes, 94th for pass completion, and 93rd for progressive carries amongst his positional peers over the last year.
Those figures highlight Caleta-Car’s ability with the ball at his feet, and the towering defender should have the quality to help Southampton build from the back.
It seems as though Hasenhuttl has picked up another astute acquisition, therefore, topping off a quietly impressive summer for the Southampton recruitment team.