SAINTS ALWAYS HAD A CHOICE. THEY CHOSE TO SELL 14 STARS

WHAT choice did they have? That is Southampton’s claim. What chance does any small Premier League club have when the wealthy elite come calling? And yes, to some extent that is true. Big clubs have always preyed on smaller clubs. Everton couldn’t keep Wayne Rooney, Southampton were always going to struggle to hang on to Adam Lallana. Except they didn’t just sell Lallana (below). That season, they also sold Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren, Calum Chambers, Rickie Lambert and Jack Cork. The following season they didn’t only lose Morgan Schneiderlin — they sold Nathaniel Clyne, too. And despite banking £34m for Sadio Mane in 2016-17, they also cashed in on Victor Wanyama, Graziano Pelle and Jose Fonte the same season. Then Jay Rodriguez went in July 2017, and £75m was received for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018. So let’s not pretend this was all inevitable. Not including the cheapest deals and free transfers, Southampton have shipped out 14 players of significance in four seasons — and not all to Champions League clubs, either. West Brom, West Ham and Swansea have also been beneficiaries of their transfer policy and even if the deals have not all worked out, even if Southampton have sold for impressive prices, the sheer upheaval at the club each season was always going to have a debilitating effect eventually. Equally, if players hadn’t been moved on in such numbers initially, who knows if Southampton might have challenged for one of those Champions League positions? After all, Leicester did. The money from the elite will continue to be irresistible if Southampton’s selling ensures they have no chance of making the Champions League. To lose one, two, even three senior players, may indeed be the way of the world. To lose 14 suggests a plan; one that has now begun to backfire.