What if Southampton had retained their best players in the last decade?
Southampton deserve a lot of credited for developing some of the best British talents of this generation. The Southampton academy keeps producing promising young players and even when some of these players move to other clubs, Saints have managed to maintain their performance level.
In fact, in the last two seasons, Southampton have sold most of their crucial first team members and still find themselves in the top half of the table.
In addition to possessing a brilliant youth academy, the club also has a great scouting network that has enabled them to pick up some very good players like Sadio Mane, Morgan Schneiderlin and Fraser Forster for relatively cheap figures.
Imagine a scenario in which Southampton were able to keep their best players. The very thought of such a team is exciting and with the quality of players they sold, they could easily be challenging for a top 4 spot at least. So here is a look at a Southampton starting XI comprising only of players they sold.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
#1 Goalkeeper
Southampton did not sell Artur Boruc because of his demand, they sold him because they got an upgrade over him in Fraser Forster. However, the former Fiorentina goalkeeper is still a quality shot stopper and that’s why he still plays in the Premier League with Bournemouth.
Boruc joined the Saints in 2012 when they returned to the Premier League and he was an instrumental member of the side which kept their Premier League status for another season. The Pole was loaned to Bournemouth for the 2014/15 season as they pushed for promotion.
In 2015, he joined the Cherries on a permanent deal after his contract with Southampton expired.
The veteran keeper is Bournemouth’s first choice keeper and has so far managed to keep seven clean sheets in 29 league games. This is a decent record considering he has a newly promoted side’s defence in front of him.