An unlikely Southampton reunion looks as though it could be about to come to reality in the Championship next season.
Southampton themselves won’t be in the division to witness it first-hand, having secured an instant return to the Premier League via the play-offs.
Russell Martin is the man at the helm now, but less than two years ago Ralph Hasenhuttl was the man in charge.
During the Austrian’s first season on the south coast he was joined by coach Danny Rohl in the dugout, with the German taking his first job as the main man this season after being appointed as Sheffield Wednesday’s manager.
The 35-year-old oversaw a remarkable turnaround to keep the Hillsborough club in the Championship and now looks set to build for next season with a move for a player he coached in his time at St Mary’s.
Danny Rohl set to sign former Southampton defender Yan Valery
Rohl had worked with Hasenhuttl at RB Leipzig before following the manager to Southampton in December 2018 following the sacking of Mark Hughes.
He only stayed at the Saints until the end of the 2018/19 season, though, as he then became Hansi Flick’s assistant at Bayern Munich before later following Flick to the German national team.
When Wednesday made the decision to part ways Xisco Munoz and give Rohl his first job as a manager early last season he became the youngest in the EFL at 34.
Now Rohl is presiding over his first summer transfer window as a manager and reports suggest he is acting swiftly, with personal terms agreed for right-back Yan Valery; a player who was handed his debut under Hasenhuttl and Rohl at Southampton as an 18-year-old.
A deal still needs to be agreed with his club, Angers, with Montpellier and Standard Liege also reported to be keen.
Valery failed to live up to early promise at Southampton
When Valery burst onto the scene as an exciting right-back fresh out of the Southampton academy, few would have thought he would be anything but a top flight player for years to come.
In his breakthrough season at Southampton under Hasenhuttl and Rohl, Valery made 23 appearances and scored a stunning long-range strike away against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
He also picked up the club’s Young Player of the Season award for his efforts in the 2018/19 campaign, but that was when the now-25-year-old peaked for the Saints.
Valery’s attacking work was stronger than his defensive work at Southampton but Hasenhuttl was full of praise for the Tunisia international after he deputised in a back three in 2022, saying: “So when someone is out and you have not played a game for I don’t know how long, Yan Valery played a fantastic game as a centre-back.
“Valery, very impressed, unbelievable performance. With the ball he can still be a little bit calmer, he didn’t want to take too many risks today, absolutely okay.
“He played a few more long balls, absolutely okay. Against the ball, how he defends now, I know that he can do this. His whole body language and his belief in what he has doing has changed completely for us and this is for me very important.”
However, that proved a false dawn and Valery was sold that summer failing to ever really make the grade as a Premier League regular.