In the winter market, Southampton allowed Cedric Soares join Inter Milan on a loan deal and were looking to bring in a replacement for him in the same window.
The Saints identified Joakim Maehle as a transfer target and were keen on acquiring his services, but no deal took shape.
Earlier in March, the Dane admitted there was a “lot of interest from Southampton” in January and he was hopeful there would be another chance in the future.
Saturday’s edition of Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg once again claims Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side made a ‘lucrative bid’ for the right-back, but Genk turned down the approach from the English side.
There’s no mention about the details of the offer made by the South Coast club, but it’s claimed the Jupiler Pro League side are waiting to see if Southampton will make an offer ‘again’ for the Dane in the summer.
On Thursday, the 22-year-old admitted his dream is to play in the Champions League, while playing in the Premier League is also an aim for the player.
Should the defender leave in the next transfer window, Genk believe they can move either Vladimir Screciu or Rubin Seigers to the right-back position. 
HBVL also claims Borussia Dortmund have intensively scouted Maehle.
The entire report more or less looks like an invitation from Genk to Southampton to make an offer for their star, who has been one of the ‘revelations’ of this season.
