|
Nigel Adkins has made his move with Paul Wotton out injured and two other midfielders, Morgan Schneiderlin and Dean Hammond have collected a number of yellow cards. The loan is initially for a month.
Adkins said on completing his first Southampton signing: "Richard is going to come and join us for a month now. The big thing is that I am aware that Dean Hammond is sitting on four bookings, Morgan is sitting on three bookings and is also going on international duty next week, whilst Paul Wotton has a bit of a back injury.
"He's an exceptional talent, unfortunately he's not been playing up at Preston for whatever reason, that's not for us to talk about, but what we have got is an opportunity for us to bring him into our environment and add some value cover to the group of players that we have got.
"It's a win-win situation where are bringing him in for a month. We can have a look at him, he's not figured this season as a first team starter, so we need to assess where he is from a fitness point of view.
"He is a naturally fit player, a very energetic player who has played in the Premiership and is still at a young age. He is a quality midfield player who will add strength to the squad."
It will be a second spell for Richard at Southampton. He enjoyed a three month loan spell there in the 2005/06 season when a West Brom player. He played eleven times before a cartilage injury brought his season to an end.