Southampton can celebrate an early Christmas present this year, after signing Eljero Elia from Werder Bremen on an initial loan deal.
The Saints have made a promising start to the Premier League season, despite losing a number of their first team players during the summer transfer window. Although they recently lost four matches on the spin, they returned to winning ways at the weekend when they beat Everton 3-0 at St Mary’s to ensure they stand in fifth position in the Christmas league table.
And Ronald Koeman has already made a start to improving his squad over the winter window by taking Holland international Elia from Bremen. The 27-year-old ,who has 27 caps for his country and played in the 2010 World Cup Finals when Oranje reached the final, will link up with his new team-mates on 3 January 2015, and could make the move permanent in the summer.
This will ease some pressure on the Saints squad, which is still lacking the injured Jay Rodriguez and will also be without Sadio Mane when he links up with his Senegal pals for the African Cup of Nations next month. Although the FA Cup third round tie against Ipswich Town may come too early for him, Elia could make his debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford the following week.
Having started his career in his homeland with FC Twente, the winger soon earned a reputation as one of the best young talents in Europe and was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year in 2009. He struggled to live up to this reputation whilst in Germany with Hamburg and at Italian giants Juventus, but has regained some consistency during his spell in Bremen.
Can Elia rediscover his best form for Southampton in the Premier League? Let us know what you think by joining in the discussion below.
