Southampton’s recruitment policy for the last decade or so has featured predominantly around acquiring unknown talent to be developed and eventually sold on for a profit.

This has been seen with some of their record sales, with Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk having both left for £34m and £75m respectively, after being signed for a combined fee of around £23m.

In Tino Livramento, they once again seem to have pulled off another shrewd coup for a player who continues to grow both on the pitch and in value.

Signed for just £5m, the promising full-back left Chelsea seeking first-team opportunities. The fact that the Blues included a £25m buy-back clause instantly showed how highly they rated him.

Before his devastating cruciate injury, the 5 foot 8 menace was impressing down the right flank with his intelligent runs and relentless work rate.

He had featured 28 times in the Premier League, even notching a goal and two assists in his debut season.

The 19-year-old had also created four big chances, whilst also averaging 1.7 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 1.7 clearances per game. His performances outline a maturity far beyond his years, and the fact he is yet to return from his injury is a shame.

Despite this, his strong start unsurprisingly sparked an increase in his value. The CIES Football Observatory now rate him at €15m (£13.2m), marking a 164% increase on the youngster already.

Once he returns and hopefully continues his performances, this will surely only grow.

Frank Khalid, who is vocal of his opinions of Chelsea players, labelled Livramento an “exciting talent” and hoped to see his opportunities a Stamford Bridge increase.

However, now it is the St Mary’s Stadium that gets to enjoy him instead.

Although he seems unlikely to be fit before the World Cup, that will still hopefully leave him half a season to get back up to speed in the league before returning to his best next season.

Southampton struck gold yet again with this deal, and with the clause, the worst they can make is a £20m profit if he continues improving. It marks shrewd business all-round.