JAN Bednarek has thrown his support behind Sofiane Boufal – and insisted that he would be a “problem” for Premier League defenders.

Boufal has returned to Saints this summer following a year-long loan spell with Celta Vigo in Spain.

And after competing for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations last month, he finally met Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Bednarek said: “You need to be ready because he can do anything that he wants.

“You need to keep your legs shut so that you don’t get nutmegged.

“Sofiane is a very good player. I think it’s really difficult to defend against him and I think he could cause a lot of problems for Premier League defenders.

“He is a positive person and a very funny guy. As you can see he has a lot of quality on the pitch and he can help us a lot.

“But we can say that about a lot of players that came back from being on loan – Cedric and Wesley [Hoedt].

“It can be a strength because they know the team and they are ready to help us and fight for a place in the starting XI.

“That’s how we are going to get stronger.”

Boufal scored on his Saints return when he played against Feyenoord last month in a pre-season friendly.

The playmaker has continually been linked with a move away from the club, with teams in France said to be interested in acquiring his services.

However, he is a player that supporters would like to see work with Hasenhuttl to see what the Austrian can extract from him.

There is optimism that Saints’ boss would be able to get Boufal to knuckle down and work hard, not only for himself but for the team.

And asked whether he would like to see the Moroccan international still on the south coast once the transfer window responded, Bednarek replied: “It’s not a question for me.

“We will play the squad we have. We are happy at the moment and we can’t wait for the Premier League.”

With Thursday’s transfer deadline looming, Saints are still looking to offload a number of players to enable them to add to their squad.

Ideally, the club would like to get a central defender in before the window closes.

This would increase the competition for Bednarek, but the 22-year-old admitted he isn’t worried whether Saints sign anyone else.

“You need to work hard and always show up in training because that’s how it is. When you miss your chance, someone else will take it,” he continued.

“We are happy with the team.

“We feel confident and we feel comfortable with each other, so we are not worried about any new players coming. We are just focused on the team we have.”