New Southampton manager Mark Hughes has yet to be too active in the summer transfer window, which is perhaps a bit of a surprise seeing as the south coast outfit only narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship last month following four successive top-eight finished previously.

The Welshman, who has been warned he should have swooped for a Fulham star, was handed the role on a permanent basis having led Saints to survival during just eight Premier League matches in charge, and he will surely be keen to add some new faces to his squad before the window slams shut on August 9.

The 54-year-old is already said to have agreed a deal to sign Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong and will have more targets in mind – with the majority of those likely to be attacking reinforcements given they only scored 37 goals in their 38 top flight fixtures last term.

However, perhaps he should be considering bringing some familiar faces back to St Mary's too, as there are ex-players that can still make a difference for them on the pitch now, as well as helping to bring that feel-good factor back to the club.

Here are three former Southampton players Hughes must look to re-sign this summer…

Highly-rated and having scored 21 goals in 99 games for Malaga, hopes were high that the Spaniard could make an impact at St Mary's when he signed for Southampton in 2015.

However, it turned out to be something of a nightmare spell for Juanmi as he struggled to get first-team starts, and after one season and 19 appearances in all competitions he returned to Real Sociedad.

The 25-year-old has been in fine form for the La Liga outfit since – netting 25 times in 80 games including against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid last term despite often playing out wide – and he has the potential to really help Saints in the final third.

Southampton signed the impressive Rodriguez from Burnley after winning promotion to the Premier League in 2012, and he went on to make a big impact for the south coast outfit in his first two seasons with them – scoring 15 top flight goals in 33 games in 2013/14.

However, the forward suffered a serious knee injury towards the end of that campaign, and he never really looked like the same player before moving to West Bromwich Albion last summer.

11 goals in 42 games for a Baggies side that struggled and were relegated to the Championship is no mean feat, and perhaps he has some unfinished business at St Mary's.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Southampton haven't been as strong in the previous two seasons having seen Pelle depart for the Chinese Super League in 2016, because the Italian – and Rickie Lambert previously – were so important to the way the team played in their preferred 4-2-3-1 system.

The likes of Shane Long, Manolo Gabbiadini and Charlie Austin have struggled to play the target man role since, and 15 goals and 11 assists in 52 games for Shandong Luneng prove that he still has the quality to make a big impact in the Premier League for Saints.

The tall centre-forward would have to take a huge pay-cut to return to St Mary's, but he showed that he still cares about the club having posted his support on his Instagram account after they secured their survival last month.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.