Southampton Completes Double Signing from seria A

The 23-year-old Dutchman signed a five-year contract with the Saints amid uncertainty over the future of countryman Virgil van Dijk, who's in the midst of a standoff with the club. The Saints pursuit of Hoedt began months ago and has no bearing on Van Dijk's situation, according to Wilson. However, he's expected to directly compete for minutes against his international teammate.
Hoedt is the club's third major signing of the summer following the arrivals of centre-back Jan Bednarek and midfielder Mario Lemina.

Wesley is one of the most promising young defenders in Europe and represents a significant addition to our squad," Southampton vice-chairman Les Reed said in a statement. Having procured a Champions League finalist from one Italian club (Lemina), we have now added an Italian Supercoppa winner from another (Hoedt). We believe he has all the qualities to play a big part in our future, and we have worked hard to bring him to Southampton, with a number of other high-profile clubs interested in him.

Hoedt made 46 Serie A appearances for Lazio over the past two seasons and recently earned starts for the Netherlands in World Cup qualifying. Supporters at St Mary's can expect Hoedt to play a similar brand of football to Van Dijk. A physical defender who stands at 6-foot-4, the AZ Alkmaar product has fantastic aerial ability and a penchant for long passes.

Southampton now has five senior centre-backs in the first team, including Jack Stephens, Maya Yoshida, and Florin Gardos. Whether Van Dijk is still with the club by the end of the transfer window remains to be seen. Southampton's position is to keep the wantaway 26-year-old, who's been ordered to train alone and serve time with the under-23 side.