Despite having never been part of the ‘big six’ it’s hard to think of many sides in English football with a better track record when it comes to recruitment than Southampton.
Over the last decade, since their return to the top flight, the Saints have become renowned for brilliance in both producing talented players from their academy as well as their shrewd moves in the transfer market.
This has, however, lead to the club earning somewhat of a reputation as a selling side as their best players often look to move on to bigger things.
We’ve put together a full team of the best players around that were sold by Southampton in recent years. Where would this lot finish?
GK: Angus Gunn
Admittedly we’re getting off to the most glamorous start here, but bear with us.
After the dramatic drop-off in form of number one ‘keeper Fraser Forster during the 2017-18 season, the Saints were in the market for a new shot-stopper with their search eventually bringing them to Manchester City academy graduate Gunn, who was signed for a fee of £13.5million.
The Englishman, one of the highest-rated young goalkeepers in the country at the time, initially made a strong start to life on the South coast, being awarded man-of-the-match on his Premier League debut against Chelsea and going on to make 17 appearances for the club during his first season.
Gunn would, however, lose his first-team spot to Alex McCarthy the following campaign and would play just 13 more times for Southampton before leaving the club for Norwich for an undisclosed fee last summer.
RB: Calum Chambers
No, seriously, bear with us.
Chambers looked the real deal after being promoted to the Saints first-team in 2013, catching the eye with his superb ball-playing skills and positional awareness at right-back during the club’s second season back in the top flight in 2013-14.
The young full-back would eventually attract the interest of Arsenal the following summer, moving to North London for a fee of £18million where he unfortunately never quite managed to live up to his early promise, eventually moving on to Aston Villa in January 2022.
What. A. Strike. 😲
Calum Chambers finishes off a brilliant set piece from Villa 👏#PLonPrime #LEEAVL pic.twitter.com/Wa1RM5eHBZ
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) March 10, 2022
CB: Virgil Van Dijk
Southampton’s record departure has not been bad at Liverpool, has he?
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