Southampton boss Claude Puel has a number of options at his disposal as Charlie Austin's injury absence looms. Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

Southampton manager Claude Puel is coming under pressure from fans to spend on a striker when the transfer window reopens in January. The boss is short of options in attack after revealing that top scorer Charlie Austin faces up to four months out of action with a dislocated shoulder suffered during Saints' Europa League exit at the hands of Hapoel Be'er Sheva last week.

The issue for the manager is that January is a notoriously difficult month, and persuading clubs to part ways with their players often involves paying above market value to pry them away. So what are the options at his disposal?

Recall Gallagher from his loan at Blackburn

Sam Gallagher burst onto the scene in 2015, scoring on only his second Premier League start for Southampton in a 4-2 win over Norwich City and drawing comparisons with fellow former academy graduate Alan Shearer.

Despite being rewarded with a bumper new four-year contract months later, he failed to impress former manager Ronald Koeman and was sent out on loan to MK Dons. Gallagher was far from confident during that loan spell, but has won plenty of admirers this season after scoring seven goals in 19 games on loan at Blackburn.

Southampton have the option to recall him in January and Puel admited this week that it is something he will consider.

Raid his old club Nice

Having worked in France for his entire coaching and managerial career before arriving at Saints, Puel knows the league like the back of his hand.

He returned to his former employers to sign right-back Jeremy Pied last summer and in-form forward Alassane Plea could be a realistic target.

Plea, 23, played under Puel last season and has caught the eye of scouts across Europe after banging in 11 goals in 22 games to spearhead Nice's surprise title charge. Nice are not the richest club in France, so signing him would not break the bank.

Smash Southampton's wage structure to bring in a proven talent

Southampton have been linked with a loan move for want-away Liverpool ace Daniel Sturridge. Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has said that Sturridge will not be allowed to leave in January, but the England international may have other ideas after finding himself out of favour at Anfield.

The main stumbling block for Saints would be Sturridge's reported £120,000-a-week wages, which would vastly eclipse what the top earners at St Mary's are currently being paid. Sturridge is also believed to prefer a move to London, with West Ham and Tottenham also showing interest in his signature.

Daniel Sturridge has found himself out of favour at Anfield. OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

If Puel is looking to stay close to home, he would do worse than make an offer for Sunderland's Jermain Defoe. Defoe may now be in the veteran stage of his career but he can still produce, as he has proven once again this season in a very poor Sunderland team.

There are not too many players who have turned out for both Saints and Portsmouth, but if Defoe can score the goals to fire Southampton into Europe, St Mary's fans would soon forget his Fratton Park connections.

Order a Hamburger

Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga is a player who has been regularly touted for a move to the Premier League.

The former Germany Under-21 international is a player in the Graziano Pelle mould, with a stocky 6-foot-2 frame and a serious aerial threat.

Lasogga has found goals hard to come by this season, but has been prolific previously in his career, scoring eight times in 19 Bundesliga starts for Hertha Berlin and 13 in 20 during an earlier loan spell with Hamburg.

Like Plea, Lasogga would be available at a reasonable fee.