SAINTS manager Russell Martin says Maya Yoshida is "welcome back to the club any time" after his spell training with the club.

Yoshida, who now plays for LA Galaxy, was training at Staplewood over the international break to keep up his fitness following the end of his MLS campaign.

The 35 year old has now moved on as Saints' attention switches to league action, but Martin has been very happy with his contributions.

Asked by the Daily Echo how much he has enjoyed having the Japanese defender in training, Martin said: “It’s been good, Maya is a really good guy.

"He has trained five or six times with us - he has gone back now, but he is welcome back at any time.

“Hopefully, he enjoyed himself in training - he looked like he did. He is in good shape still and he can still really play football.

“It’s always nice when someone can come back to the club and nobody has a bad word to say about them. Everyone spoke about what a good guy he is and what a good professional he is.

“In football, it can be easy to come out and say ‘he is a great guy,’ and sometimes behind the scenes you find out not so much. But he really is a good guy.

“I can see why he has been so good - he is very respectful and he trained really really hard.”

Yoshida joined Saints training during the international break while numbers were depleted due to those away with their countries.

Martin was pleased with how Yoshida, who made 194 appearances for Southampton, added to the intensity. 

“There is usually a lot of small group training, so the freshness Maya has brought to training has been nice," he continued. 

"He is held in really high regard here and rightly so. I think he is enjoying life a little too much in Los Angeles to come back as a player, but I don’t blame him one bit.

"He’s at the later stage of his career and he’s still got a lot left in his legs. He is enjoying it over there and is fully committed to it. I wish him the very best.”

The announcement that Yoshida was training with Saints prompted supporters to speculate about the possibility of the defender joining on a short-term loan.

It's not uncommon for players playing in the MLS to temporarily switch to Europe in order to keep fit between seasons.

Asked if a short-term deal could be on the table, Martin revealed that it wasn't a topic of conversation.

“It’s not something we have discussed. He has been back in England because he had a lot of things to sort out.

“Now he has gone back and I think he has plans to go to a few other places. He didn’t bring up a potential transfer and neither did we because we have got a squad we are really happy with. 

“It was what it was. It was really nice to have him in. He helped us and hopefully we helped him.”