WESLEY Hoedt claims he was never told the reason for his Saints exile.

The defender completed his loan move to Spanish side Celta Vigo earlier today, who also have the option to sign him permanently in the summer.

After Ralph Hasenhuttl took charge of Saints at the beginning of December, Hoedt failed to make a single appearance for the club.

📸 @wesleyhoedt se presentó ante los medios en @ASedeRCCelta y esta tarde entrenará por primera vez en A Madroa. #BenvidoHoedt pic.twitter.com/KrPLrynOpE — RC Celta (@RCCelta) January 22, 2019

“It’s been very strange,” the 24-year-old revealed.

“I played everything.

“Almost fifty games in a row I was in the starting line-up and I played ninety minutes. Until I suddenly came to be at the side of it.

“I never had a clear explanation.”

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl

Hoedt had made 13 appearances for Saints this season which came under the management of Mark Hughes.

Hasenhuttl decided early on that the central defender wasn’t going to feature in his plans as he opted to play Maya Yoshida, Jan Bednarek and Jannik Vestergaard.

The Dutch international arrived at St Mary’s in a £15m deal in the summer of 2017 from Italian side Lazio when Mauricio Pellegrino was at the helm.

Hoedt signed a five-year contract with Saints but is leaving after only 18 months at the club.

Celta Vigo’s acquisition of the defender doubles their pool of Saints players.

Sofiane Boufal joined them on loan last summer, having spent two seasons on the south coast.

The La Liga side suffered their fourth successive defeat on Saturday, which has left them fourth from bottom in the table.

This has led to them signing Hoedt, but since Hasenhuttl dropped the defender, Saints’ record at the back has improved significantly.

Wesley Hoedt [left] and Ryan Bertrand [right]

In the 13 Premier League appearances the Dutch international made this season, the St Mary’s side shipped 21 goals.

Since his last appearance, which came on Saturday, 24 November in the 3-2 defeat against Fulham, they’ve conceded four fewer goals in 10 top-flight matches.

And when Hoedt was questioned whether he wanted to prove something to Hasenhuttl and Saints during his loan spell in Spain, the 24-year-old was quick to rule that notion out.

He added: “No, I do not feel that way.

“I just want to continue with what I was doing.

“I did well at Lazio and at Southampton.

“I want to continue that here.”

In total, Hoedt played 45 times for Saints and scored once.