Southampton have sold plenty of players who have gone on to bigger and better things, with Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane starring for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, and Gareth Bale having now won it all at Real Madrid.

That comes with being the club that they are, and it can be accepted when someone who has impressed makes a significant upgrade.

However, Dusan Tadic is one who would have surprised many people with how his form skyrocketed after his move.

He left St Mary’s Stadium in a £10m move to Ajax in 2018, coming off the back of just six goals and three assists throughout the Premier League season.

Throughout his entire Saints career, he only managed 24 goals and 35 assists in 162 games.

However, his time in Amsterdam could not have been more impressive, leaving many fans wondering where that form was for them.

In just 204 games for the Dutch giants, he has accumulated 188 goal contributions, with his astounding 2018/19 season shocking the world of football.

He lit up the Eredivisie and the Champions League, scoring 34 times and assisting 18 across 46 games in both competitions.

During this campaign, he even captained the side on occasion, and instantly the £10m fee started to look like a steal. He was instrumental in their league win, and they were a late collapse away from reaching the final of Europe’s elite competition.

Many from the south coast were left scratching their heads following this season, which was obviously no fluke given his career stats for the club.

He is now a proven star in both the Netherlands and European competitions, completely breaking free from whatever held him back in England.

James Masters even called him a big upgrade on the revered Adam Lallana, labelling him “magic” at the time of his arrival at the club.

Although they saw glimpses, he never reached anywhere near the contribution that Ajax received from him. He has become a star and one that seemingly got away from the Saints.

They are not often left thinking they should have held onto players, as it is often out of their control. Perhaps they should think twice before binning off someone with clearly so much talent; his best season could be just around the corner.