Wesley Hoedt feels that his time at Royal Antwerp is over, but he now wants to end the loan deals and get a permanent move out of St Mary's.

One thing that has become clear in Ralph Hasenhuttl's time at St Mary's is that if your face doesn't fit with him then he is ruthless, one such face that he didn't seem to take a shine to was Wesley Hoedt's.

When Hasenhuttl arrived at Saints in December 2018, Hoedt had just been dropped after being just about the only constant in the centre of the Saints defence after his arrival in the summer of 2017 and although Ralph said that the slate was wiped clean and everyone would get a chance , the Dutch defender was frozen out and went out on loan to Celta Vigo.

Last summer he came back to the club and was hopeful of showing what he could do but was again frozen out and went out on loan again this time to Royal Antwerp Hoedt remains the one player who has yet to play a single minute under the Austrian.

Now with the Jupiler League in Belgium officially declared over, Hoedt's future is in the balance but he is aware that Antwerp will be unlikely to be able to afford the £8 million clause to buy attached to the deal.

Speaking to Dutch daily paper De Telegraaf he said.

"You've written often enough that the purchase option is €8m and it is currently unrealistic for a Belgian club to pay it"

"Even without the corona, I think it was too much.

"Antwerp can trigger the option until 31st May, but I know enough by now.

"The club only has to make a statement itself, but for me it means that my time at Antwerp is over."

Hoedt, whose move to Antwerp was his second loan away from Southampton, is clear that this summer he wants to leave the Premier League side on a permanent basis.

"That is the intention, yes [to look for a new club in a top league].

"I already have a number of offers from clubs in those competitions, but I have to wait, and consult with Southampton.

"What is clear is that I am not waiting for a year-long loan. I want a final transfer this time", the centre-back added.

Hoedt helped Antwerp to 4th place in the Belgian top flight this season, with the campaign brought to an early close and Club Brugge declared champions.

It seems very unlikely that he will be offered a chance by Ralph Hasenhuttl now, so his future options lie away from St Mary's, personally I think it is a big shame, Hoedt was one of those players that some took against, mostly unfairly in my opinion, they remember the bad games, but made no allowance for the fact that the rest of the defence was hardly distinguishing itself either.

Although now one could really say that he was an unqualified success, he was by far not the worst of a bad bunch and those who were at Swansea City two years ago for that famous win, will testify that night he was a rock in a patched up defence.

So I wish him well wherever he goes next season, for Saints it will be good if they can get a fee of around £8 million, it will go into the transfer kitty and also get some high wages off the books, yes the money we will get for Hoedt and several others will be less than what we paid with the current situation likely to reduce transfer fees, but it will also mean that the price for players we want will drop as well.

Photo: Action Images

perazi added 10:09 - May 18 Limited ability, big mouth, inflated ego. Hoedt that is.
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highfield49 added 12:13 - May 18 Good grief he's not doing himself any favours, again, with comments to the effect that he has a queue of top clubs wetting themselves with anxiety to get his signature on a contract. As perazi has already commented, his ego and inability to grasp that giving the ball away in critical phases of play is not a great attribute for a defender haven't endeared him to many. Collect your toys from the vicinity of your pram and move on is the best advice I can offer.

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TimSaint added 12:19 - May 18 If he already has a number of offers from other clubs, then I'm sure they all know his price and we will have no problem getting £8m for him. Perhaps the Belgian League is his level.
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underweststand added 14:20 - May 18 Just another of that group of poor buys who came after Koeman's departure and must surely be put down to the errors from Messers. Reed and Wilson. Trouble is any time a Prem. club goes scouting abroad Euro clubs double their prices. Like Vestergaard... Hoedt perhaps looks the part... but has has obvious frailties in his game which just won't do at Prem.level. One bad apple too many. Best we can hope for is sell them off at best price , save on their exorbitant salaries and hope any profit on PEH eventual transfer will make up the shortfall.

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Shakin_Stevens added 15:41 - May 18 Banging this drum again? Fans turned on him because he was a liability. Overplayed and didn't do the basics well. I was definitely enjoying the 'On This Day' articles a lot more.
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SaintPaulVW added 22:43 - May 18 'they remember the bad games, but made no allowance for the fact that the rest of the defence was hardly distinguishing itself either' So, by this logic, if the rest of the defence was also partly to blame for his mistakes.......why was Yoshi always singled out on here?
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dirk_doone added 20:27 - May 19 "‘It’s unrealistic’ Wesley Hoedt moaning that Saints want too much for him. "Southampton man fears £7m price-tag will ruin his dream move"
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