1 Toby Alderweireld in action for Southampton

Southampton are keen to sign Toby Alderweireld on a permanent basis and are likely to discuss his long-term future in January.

A number of Premier League clubs were after the Belgian international in the summer, but new Saints boss Ronald Koeman persuaded him to sign for the South Coast side to “play good football”.

The Atletico Madrid defender, who is currently on a one-year loan deal, has helped the south coast club to third place in the Premier League.

Koeman’s men thumped Sunderland 8-0 at St. Mary’s last weekend and Alderweireld, who has formed a formidable centre-back partnership with captain Jose Fonte, admits he did his homework on the Saints before joining.

“I knew a lot of the players that Koeman had signed before I came here,” the 25-year-old said.

“I felt we had a good team so I signed here for a year to play good football, play again and play with good players. You could see that. That’s a quality of the team, not only the 11 guys who play but also those on the bench who can make a difference.”

In an interview with saintsfc.co.uk, he added: “Graziano Pelle has been fantastic, but it is not only him. We have Dusan Tadic who was amazing with his assists and on the bench we have good players who came in and made a difference.”