Celtic sold Moussa Dembele to Ligue 1 club Lyon with Premier League Southampton nowhere to be seen.
Southampton smashed their transfer record in January to sign Monaco striker Guido Carrillo for £19.2 million (the Mirror).
Seven Premier League games, no goals and a loan move to Leganes later and it is fair to say the Argentine was not worth the money. And, to think, the Saints could perhaps have signed Moussa Dembele for the same fee if they had waited a few more months.
Heading into the January window, the Mirror reported that Celtic’s number 10 was one of the strikers on Southampton’s radar as the South Coast strugglers aimed to find a goal-scorer capable of firing them to safety.
Seven months later, Dembele has finally left Celtic. But, rather than try his hand in the Premier League, the France U21 ace has returned home, joining Lyon for £19.7 million (BBC).
Ironically, there is just £500,000 between the price-tags of Carillo and Dembele. And, for less than £20 million, Southampton should surely have been back in for the former Fulham youngster.
The in-form Danny Ings looks like the poacher Southampton have needed for months, but the other strikers at Mark Hughes’ disposal are not particularly inspiring. Charlie Austin has been out of form for a while and missed a penalty against Crystal Palace, while Shane Long scored just twice last season.
Dembele and a fit and firing Ings could have worked perfectly as a ‘nine and ten’ partnership in attack, transforming Southampton from one of the league’s most blunt sides into one capable of scoring against any opposition.
From Virgil van Dijk to Fraser Forster and Victor Wanyama, the Saints have history when it comes to turning former Celtic players into Premier League stars. But not this time.
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