Ralph Hasenhuttl makes crazy admission as Newcastle complete first signing

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Ralph Hasenhuttl and Southampton were not very happy when their game against Newcastle was postponed.

The Magpies were set to face the Saints on January 2nd, but a combination of COVID cases and injuries led to the game being put off to a later date.

It enraged Southampton fans, especially with the January transfer window on the horizon – a month where Newcastle are going to be very busy.

We’ve already completed our first signing, securing Kieran Trippier for £12million. But Hasenhuttl doesn’t think he, or any other new signing, should be allowed to play when the sides meet in the rearranged game.

What has Ralph Hasenhuttl said?

The Austrian spoke to the press ahead of Southampton’s FA Cup game against Swansea, and made a truly shocking admission.

“We discussed during the Premier League meeting what would happen with January signing during the postponed games,” Hasenhuttl said.

“Would they be allowed to play or not? It is not for us to say.

“We could be the same. With our new owners, we could sign a few players and it would not really be fair to use them in games that have been postponed.”

No way Newcastle should be stopped from playing new signings

It’s actually frightening that Hasenhuttl said this out loud. If Southampton want to sign a load of players this month and use them against us, that’s fine. That’s the way the transfer market works. To claim it would be unfair just reeks of pettiness.

Plenty of teams had games postponed over Christmas. It wasn’t just Newcastle. It only seems to be such a problem with Newcastle because they’re having a busy January.

You can guarantee there wouldn’t have been this much outrage if Mike Ashley was still calling the shots. A bit like how there wasn’t outrage at Ashley’s Sports Direct sponsoring St James’ Park…

Hasenhuttl can moan all he likes. But all he should be focussed on his getting the most out of his players.

When his Southampton team face Newcastle, there will be plenty of new Magpies in the starting XI. And how sweet it would be if Kieran Trippier netted a stoppage time winner to further compound Hasenhuttl’s misery.