Owen Hargreaves backs relegated Southampton star to sign for a 'top-six club'

Owen Hargreaves believes a top-six side will sign Carlos Alcaraz this summer following Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League.

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Southampton’s demotion to the Championship was confirmed on Saturday as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Fulham.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, has impressed since joining in a £12.3 million deal from Argentine side Racing Club in the January transfer window.

The 20-year-old midfielder has been Southampton’s standout performer in recent weeks, scoring four goals in 18 appearances, and Hargreaves believes he will be on the move once again at the end of the season.

‘You know what, he’s fabulous,’ Hargreaves told Premier League Productions.

‘He’ll probably go to a top-six side, Carlos Alcaraz.

‘The only one who had an impact from January was Alcaraz, he is fantastic.’

Hargreaves also believes a lack of experienced players in Southampton’s squad was a key factor behind their relegation.

‘They tried everything didn’t they, to be honest. They had [Ralph] Hasenhuttl, then they tried Nathan Jones, then they tried a young manager [Ruben Selles] who knew the club and knew the young players, they won at Chelsea and I think that solidified that he was going to stay.

‘In a way it was almost desperation at times.

‘You just need to find a way to get results and you’re not doing to do that with young players and a young manager.

‘It’s a bit like Leeds, similar blueprints, they go with this young direction, play nice football, attacking football and pressing, but when you keep conceding a tonne of goals, these young players lose confidence and then you struggle to score goals. And then the whole thing starts falling apart in front of everyone, everybody starts pointing fingers, then the manager gets the sack.

‘When you go through three managers in a season there’s problems there. Recruitment, players, everyone’s to blame.

‘I think they’ll be fine in the Championship, they’ve got some good players, it’s a good, stable club. Maybe they just need a little reset to come back up.’

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