Kyle Walker-Peters looking great value for money in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg swap deal

Rarely does a swap deal take place without eyebrows being raised along with mutters of discontent, usually due to the fact one of the clubs involved has had an absolute nightmare.

When Southampton agreed to let Pierre-Emile Højbjerg move to Tottenham last summer, they waved goodbye to a dependable midfielder who’d been a mainstay in their starting XI for the best part of four seasons.

The Saints received just £3m for Højbjerg, though the deal included youngster Kyle Walker-Peters arriving at St Mary's; an inexperienced full-back with just 22 Premier League appearances to his name.

Oh how the footballing world scoffed. ‘Ralph Hasenhuttl, they have just had your pants down my friend’ - less than six months on and the Southampton boss looks to have played an absolute blinder.

Walker-Peters is fast developing into an absolutely brilliant right-back, and his energetic displays have become key to everything that's good about Southampton's play.

Last season Hasenhuttl chopped and changed at right-back, with Cedric Soares spending most of the first half of the campaign at full-back before moving onto Arsenal, where he's endured numerous injury issues.

Yan Valery was asked to slot in there at times, though he clearly wasn't suited to a right-back role and so Hasenhuttl's hand was forced in that he had to play him at wing-back with three central defenders, meaning there was a need for two defensive midfielders - Højbjerg and Oriol Romeu - to cover the flanks in a midfield three.

However, Hasenhuttl clearly saw potential in Walker-Peters during his six-month loan spell at the club, and while the decision to swap Højbjerg for the youngster may not look a fair one on paper, the way it has allowed Southampton to change their style of play to how the Saints boss wants them to play makes perfect sense.

Now Southampton have a well-rounded and trusted right-back, meaning the Saints can play with four across the midfield and there's no requirement for Højbjerg to provide additional cover - the move has seen their midfield look far more balanced with energy of James Ward-Prowse offset by the defensive nous of Romeu, and suddenly Hasenhuttl doesn't look so daft.

Walker-Peters' display over Liverpool has rightly been lauded since his efforts played a huge part in keeping the champions at bay, though his performances throughout the season have rarely dipped.

His all-action, combative displays are exactly what a manager like Hasenhuttl needs for a team thrive under his stewardship, and the balance offered by Ryan Bertrand on the opposite flank has seen Southampton flourish into a well-drilled unit which is both tough to break down and menacing going forward.

It would be amiss to overlook Spurs' part in the Walker-Peters deal. While they've offloaded a right-back who was clearly surplus to requirements at the club, they've recruited a quality central midfielder who is every bit a Jose Mourinho player and has slotted into the starting XI seamlessly.

The summer addition of Matt Doherty and the emergence of Serge Auerier at right-back (and by 'emergence' we of course mean Mourinho has taught him how to defend, but we're trying to be nice here) mean Walker-Peters would barely have had a sniff of first-team action this season, and instead they've bolstered their midfield with a player very much to their manager's liking.

Swap deals have come back into a fashion a little of late due to the financial restraints clubs have been put under due to the coronavirus pandemic, though to be fair it's not surprising they were almost extinct due to the fact they so rarely work out for both clubs.

However, this one is a rare commodity. Both sides have done absolutely brilliantly out of the swap, and Hasenhuttl has yet again proven himself to be one of the most astute managers in the league.