Southampton's decision to sign Jan Bednarek for just £5 million from Lech Poznan in 2017 is looking to be more and more like a masterstroke by the Saints, with former sporting director Ross Wilson deserving a lot of credit for his role in the negotiations.

Southampton brought in the centre-back for the minimal fee in the summer of 2017, as he became Mauricio Pellegrino's first signing at the South Coast club.

He would end up outlasting the Argentine manager and he has become a key part of Southampton's first-team under Ralph Hasenhuttl in recent seasons.

The Polish international has now made 108 appearances for the Saints, in which he has contributed three goals and four assists.

Bednarek was a big part of Southampton's impressive form earlier in the season, forming a solid partnership with Jannik Vestergaard in central defence and he has been one of the first names on the team sheet under the Austrian's management.

Having established himself as a quality defender at both domestic and international level, it is no surprise that Bednarek's market value has significantly increased during his time at Southampton.

At the time of his signing, the centre-back was valued at just £4.5 million, whereas the 24-year-old is now valued at £22.5 million, which shows why his acquisition was excellent business by the South Coast club.

Bednarek is still relatively young for a centre-back, so it would not be a surprise to see his value continue to rise over the next few seasons and whilst it might be tricky for the Saints to keep hold of him if he attracts interest from a top club, it looks like they're almost guaranteed to make a serious profit on him should he leave.

Therefore, you could definitely say that it was something of a masterclass by Wilson to bring in Bednarek for just £5 million back in 2017, considering his excellent performances in his first four years with the Saints.

To sign a player, see him have great success then either sell him for a big profit or keep him for years to come is exaclty what clubs like Saints want to do in the market. There's no doubting that getting Bednarek was a masterstroke.

And, in other news... Southampton can sign their next Mane with £8.5m swoop for 18-goal beast