We have only ever previously done one video about Southampton, and that was a look at the clubs seven most lucrative player sales and where those players are now.
For a while I’ve wanted to do another, but my idea of Mauricio Pochettino’s first or last 7 signings at the club was rather ruined when I discovered that the current Tottenham boss only signed four players during his time at St Mary’s.
Dan Jones on Twitter suggested that we do Southampton’s first 7 signings following their most recent promotion to the Premier League in 2012, and the best part of a month on, that’s exactly what we’re going to do today. Feel free to follow us on Twitter by the way if you don’t already, my username on there is simply @HITCSevens.
Here are Southampton’s first 7 signings following promotion to the Premier League: Where are they now?
7. Jay Rodriguez – West Brom
It was a three-horse race for promotion from the Championship back in the 2011-12 season between Reading, Southampton and West Ham. The Saints finished second, but all three won promotion in the end following West Ham’s play-off success. The following summer, Nigel Adkins was rewarded with a decent war-chest in his attempts to make the club top flight ready.
The first man through the door was a 22-year-old Jay Rodriguez. A graduate of the Burnley academy, Rodriguez had scored 21 goals in his final season with the Clarets, and looked to be the complete package. After a reasonable debut campaign, he had a fantastic 2013-14 season, scoring 15 goals and breaking into the England team.
He picked up a horrible ACL injury at the end of that season though and never really bounced back on the south coast. He joined West Brom for £12 million in the summer of 2017, with whom he was relegated last season, but he has bagged 19 goals so far this term as the Baggies seek an immediate return to the top flight.
6. Steven Davis – Rangers
Belfast , Ireland – 24 March 2019; Josh Magennis of Northern Ireland celebrates with team-mate Steven Davis after scoring his side’s second goal during the UEFA EURO2020 Qualifier Group C…
One of a number of players to leave Rangers as a free agent following the club’s insolvency in 2012, Steven Davis was a really shrewd addition by Nigel Adkins on a free transfer. The Northern Ireland captain hasn’t always had the most plaudits, but he gave five or six years of outstanding service to the club. Still contracted to the Saints on a three-year deal that will run out this summer, the 34-year-old is currently on-loan with his former club Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
5. Nathaniel Clyne – Bournemouth
A bit like Jay Rodriguez, Nathaniel Clyne was another very good signing by Nigel Adkins who made a big impression in the Premier League before having his club and international career severely damaged by a long-term injury. Clyne had three fantastic seasons at St Mary’s before being snapped up by Liverpool in a deal worth £12.5 million.
He was a regular at Anfield under both Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp for two seasons before being rocked by an injury to his spine. In his absence, Trent Alexander-Arnold emerged as a star man in the Liverpool first team, and once Clyne regained fitness, he couldn’t reclaim his place in Jurgen Klopp’s side. The right-back joined Bournemouth on a half-season loan in the January transfer window.
4. Paulo Gazzaniga – Tottenham
Paulo Gazzaniga of Tottenham Hotspur during the Tottenham Hotspur training session at Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on April 05, 2019 in Enfield, England.
Following the latest in a string of errors made by Hugo Lloris at Tottenham this season, there are calls from a number of Spurs fans for Paulo Gazzaniga to be given a chance as the club’s first choice goalkeeper right now. The 27-year-old, who has been capped once by Argentina, is in just his second season at Tottenham, having joined Spurs for a reported £2.5 million.
That’s actually a little less than Southampton are reported to have paid for the Argentine when he joined the club from Gillingham in the summer of 2012. Gazzaniga was just 20 at the time of his move to St Mary’s, fresh off the back of his debut campaign as a professional in League Two.
3. Emmanuel Mayuka – Free Agent
Having been tied with the likes of Didier Drogba and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the top scorer at the 2012 African Cup of Nation’s, as well as having bagged 20 goals in 62 games for Young Boys in Switzerland, there were a few clubs willing to take a chance on Emmanuel Mayuka in the summer of 2012. In the end, the striker joined Southampton for £3 million, but he found goals hard to come by in the Premier League.
Sixteen appearances failed to yield a single goal, and he was soon shipped out on-loan. Still aged only 28, Mayuka has been without a club since 2017, and he’s no longer even a part of the Zambia national team.
2. Maya Yoshida – Southampton
Maya Yoshida of Southampton in action during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton FC at American Express Community Stadium on March 30, 2019 in Brighton,…
The only player in this seven still actively playing for Southampton right now, Maya Yoshida has played more than 175 games in seven seasons at St Mary’s. Signed by Southampton from VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands, Yoshida has gone on to amass 95 caps for the Japanese national team and counting. A hard-working and driven centre-back, Yoshida has been restricted to just 10 league appearances this season, and his current deal is set to run out in the summer of 2020.
1. Gaston Ramirez – Sampdoria
It’s a little unusual given the contribution some of the previously mentioned players in this seven have made to Southampton, that it was actually Gaston Ramirez who was the clubs marquee signing in the summer of 2012. The fee of £12 million, which might get you a half-decent second choice goalkeeper now, was astronomical for a promoted club at the time, and it made him Southampton’s record signing.
The idea was for Ramirez to become a linchpin in the Saints side as the club’s leading playmaker, but the Uruguayan international blew way too hot and cold. He never showed more than glimpses of his obvious talent, and was routinely outshadowed by the Saints own academy graduate Adam Lallana. Loans to Hull and Middlesbrough followed, and Ramirez is now playing for Sampdoria in Serie A where the style of play seems to suit him a lot better than in England.
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