Mane, Van Dijk, Tadic: Southampton’s XI if they hadn’t sold their best players | OneFootball

Southampton are currently at rock bottom of the Premier League and have three fixtures remaining to turn their fortunes around.

The last time they were playing their football in the Championship was back in 2011/12 and Spanish head coach Ruben Selles will do everything to ensure they don’t succumb to the drop.

However, after a quick look back at the enormous amount of world-class talent they have let go, we’re sure they wouldn’t be in this sticky situation if they kept them on board. Marca have compiled what their XI would look like if they managed to keep hold of all their best players.

They are commonly known to be a conveyor belt for fresh homegrown talent, whereas traditionally ‘bigger’ clubs would let them do the dirty work and then come in.

Southampton’s best XI of players they’ve sold

GK: Paulo Gazzaniga

Admittedly, Gazzaniga probably doesn’t reach the calibre of the rest of this side – but he did show some promising potential for Spurs.

After a series of loan spells, Gazzaniga joined Tottenham in the summer of 2017 but found himself down the pecking order as the third choice.

He failed to stamp his authority on England but was given his best chance to do just so in the 2019/20 season when he played 18 times domestically.

RB: Cedric Soares

Now just a rarely used substitute for surprise package Fulham, it’s all gone downhill for Cedric.

However, his first spell at Southampton was not as brutal, as he played 119 times for the south coast outfit and was part of some of the side’s most impressive years in the Premier League.

A failed six-month loan to Inter Milan and Cedric returned to Southampton, but failed to reach the heights he had done previously and so made the permanent switch after another six-month loan period.

CB: Dejan Lovren

Signed by Mauricio Pochettino, Lovren made an instant impact and then joined Liverpool just a year later.

With a little help from his centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk, Lovren added a Champions League and Premier League to his locker during his time at Liverpool.

The 32-year-old Croatian racked up 185 appearances for the Merseyside-based outfit before moving to Russia to play for Zenit St Petersburg.

Now he is back at Lyon, the club who Southampton originally signed him from. Who doesn’t love a cyclical love story?

CB: Virgil van Dijk

The Dutchman has established himself as one of the best centre-backs of the modern era and was nothing short of a revelation upon his arrival from Scotland.

Just 80 Southampton appearances later and Liverpool snatched him for a £75 million fee, of which he has paid back every penny.

Van Dijk has become a mainstay in Liverpool’s defence and looks set in his position until he makes the decision to move on, but the Reds will have to search high and low to find someone good enough to fill his boots.

LB: Luke Shaw

Two full seasons in the Premier League with Saints and Manchester United took a chance on an 18-year-old Luke Shaw.

Shaw has been one of United’s standout performers this year under Erik Ten Hag and has bounced back from a plethora of kickbacks, not least his double leg-break in 2015.

He’s a manager’s dream given he can play more centrally, but also occupy the left-hand side expertly with his pace and fondness to progress making him set to be United and England’s first choice for the foreseeable future.

CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

Something of an unsung hero during his time at Southampton, Hojbjerg now plies his trade in north London for Tottenham Hotspur, where you could say the same there, too.

His relentless energy and effort he displayed time and time again was appreciated by Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho as he turned the holding midfielder into a consistent performer at a very high level.

The Danish midfield originally joined Southampton from German giants Bayern Munich for a fee of just £12.8 million.

CM: Oriol Romeu

Formerly of Chelsea and Barcelona, Romeu tipped up at Saints with a rather impressive CV and went on to spend seven years at the club.

Though he was not a recognised goalscorer during his time in England, his off-the-ball persona helped his side to a sixth-place finish in the 2015/16 campaign.

He now resides back in his homeland, Spain, and plays for top-flight side Girona, but it’s fair to say Southampton fans miss that bite and tenacity he brought to the engine room.

CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

You may see a reoccurring theme, here. A lot of Southampton’s former players were eventually snapped up by European giants, Liverpool.

This time, though, Arsenal was wedged in between. Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoyed a breakout season in 2010/11 when Southampton were in League One, and he caught the eye of veteran boss Arsene Wenger.

Now playing third or fourth fiddle in this present Liverpool setup, it would be wise for the 29-year-old to move elsewhere; especially with Euro 2024 looming.

RW: Theo Walcott

Walcott spent the majority of his Premier League years at the Emirates Stadium and managed to notch 106 goals into his record over the 13 years.

He, however, made his name down on the south coast before his £5 million move back in 2006. Everton picked him up in the 2018 January window but after a bit of two and froing with his starter club Southampton, he arrived back on a free transfer.

What could have been, eh Theo?

ST: Dusan Tadic

Another player to endure a plethora of success upon their St. Mary’s exit is Ajax superstar Tadic. The Serbian wizard is best known for his left foot, in which he can most likely thank for his 23 goals he mounted up for the Saints.

His most impressive footballing years have come in the Dutch capital, though, and has been integral to they’ve done since his arrival in 2010/11.

Scoring 117 goals and assisting 139 assists over a 292-game period are exceptional numbers and just prove how crucial he has been.

LW: Sadio Mane

A wasted talent out in Bavaria who spent most of his illustrious years winning accolade after accolade at Liverpool in his six-year Merseyside stint.

Mane scored 111 goals and provided a further 47 assists in his 263 Premier League appearances across both clubs and even picked up a Golden Boot in the 2018/19 seasons for his impressive 22-goal campaign.

The Senegalese forward has been linked with a shock return to England’s top division in a bid to revitalise his downwards spiralling career.