Southampton are in the midst of re-establishing themselves as a top Premier League side. Ralph Hasenhuttl has spearheaded the team to three wins and one draw out of six games played so far this season and will have enjoyed beating current leaders Everton on home soil.
As it stands, they are just two points outside of the top four. If the Saints keep up this impressive run of form, they can look to smash their expectations of a top ten finish.
With a strong attacking squad at his disposal, Hasenhuttl will definitely be pleased with the progress this campaign. However, one man he would have been hoping is still at the club is one Dusan Tadic.
A mistake to sell Tadic
Whilst the Serbian was granted his wish to join Ajax two years ago under Mark Hughes, the current Saints boss will have likely done everything possible to keep him at the club.
Tadic spent four years on the south coast before opting for a move to the Eredivisie, where he's one won title and the Dutch Super Cup. Undoubtedly on a personal level, the move was a very smart one. But for Southampton, they could have gotten a much better deal for the clinical winger.
The 31-year-old currently has seven goalscoring contributions in eight appearances across all competitions this season. He finished the 2019/20 campaign with an astonishing 11 goals and 15 assists in 25 Dutch league games (via Transfermarkt).
His debut season with Ajax was even more impressive, netting 38 times for the whole term and racking up a total of 41 goal contributions in just 34 Eredivisie appearances.
Tadic would dominate Hasenhuttl's Southampton
Tadic's numbers during his time with Southampton were also solid, but he has come into a completely new level whilst at Ajax. His attacking threat is blistering and earned him a spot in the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist for 2019. The contrast from his £10million Saints exit is staggering.
Whilst Hughes allowed such a small fee move to go through as a labour of love, the club will be kicking themselves that they didn't keep him or push for more money. As Southampton continue to climb the Premier League ranks, they must start to think more as a business and put themselves first.
The Saints could have made a lot more through Tadic's sale or alternatively, under Hasenhuttl he could have been the star of the show in the inverted winger role which the Austrian describes as more of a spot for No.10s.
It is a position in which Stuart Armstrong has become a key component of the team under Hasenhuttl, who said earlier this month prior to the clash against West Bromwich Albion:
“In the moment he’s definitely one of our most important players because he shows all the time, exactly the behaviours I want to see.
“He’s very smart, knows exactly the spaces where he has to move in. He’s hard to catch there, hard to tackle there."
It hasn't always been like that under the former RB Leipzig chief though, being in and out of the team during the 2019/20 campaign, and featuring for only 85 minutes in the south coast outfit's opening 10 Premier League matches last term - a fact that would have been made even worse with the presence of Tadic.
Hasenhuttl will certainly be frustrated that he never got his chance with the Serbian, but it will serve as an important lesson moving forwards nonetheless for him and the club.
In other news, Nathan Redmond cannot afford to rest on his laurels following Djenepo return...