Football managers often have favourites. It's natural.
Go-to players who are the perfect embodiment of what the head coach wants on and off the pitch. Reliable individuals, the voice on the ground, often referred to as "trusted lieutenants".
And when it's time for a boss to move on, usually onto a bigger project, those players are often brought along for the ride.
READ MORE: The players who could now follow Southampton-bound Russell Martin out of the Swansea City exit door
Brendan Rodgers, when he left Swansea City for Liverpool after one season in the Premier League, took Joe Allen with him to Merseyside. He also signed Fabio Borini off the strength of his loan stint in SA1, and one suspects the Northern Irishman would have liked to have nabbed Ashley Williams and Michel Vorm as well.
The act is commonplace in football and Swansea are likely to have to brace themselves for it happening again when Russell Martin's protracted move to Southampton is finally rubber-stamped.
This deal has been a long time in the pipeline and a quick resolution is now needed for both teams to move on and prepare themselves to lock horns with each other in the Championship next term.
Recruitment will be key both in south Wales and on the south coast of England, and Martin's move to St Mary's might not be the last line of communication between the clubs this summer.
Martin has a track record of bringing former players with him.
Martin plucked Andy Fisher, Harry Darling and Matty Sorinola from his time at MK Dons, while he was extremely keen to bring Matt O'Riley to south Wales but failed to get a deal done, with the midfielder eventually signing for Celtic and making a big impression north of the border.
In Fisher and Darling, Martin was adamant the signings would bring that level of possession-based control he so rigidly practises.
Another player, Flynn Downes, was also important in the way Swansea played in that first season and was a man recommended by assistant manager Matt Gill, who worked with the midfielder at Ipswich.
It suggests that Martin and his team like to work with players they can trust and have a good relationship with. That might sound obvious and a mantra all managers subscribe to, but it's telling that Swansea skipper Matt Grimes and Martin developed such a close bond over the past couple of years.
The head coach and captain have always had mutual respect for each other. “I’ve said it numerous times, in numerous interviews that I believe the gaffer is the best manager in the league and he’s going to go on to unbelievable things," Grimes said last month.
“The way he’s got us playing with a young squad and the least amount of players used in the Championship is a testament to him and all the lads.
“As you’ve seen over the past seven or eight games, we’ve been playing some really good stuff and we just need to keep building momentum going into next year and carry on this run we are on.”
Martin, who called Grimes one of the bravest footballers he's worked with, said of his captain earlier this season: “I think Grimesy’s impact is understated because people expect a certain level of performance from him but what he does, the compliments that have been paid to him in the games by managers when they’ve come in - he’s incredible.
“I don’t think we should ever take that for granted."
It may well be a lazy assumption linking Grimes with a switch to St Mary's but the player is so intrinsic to the way Martin wants to play that it makes a great deal of sense, and worryingly so.
One suspects Swansea's other jewel, Joel Piroe, will be aiming for a Premier League move after hitting 20 goals in consecutive seasons, therefore may not be in Martin's thinking. Nathan Wood, though, might be another Martin will be keeping tabs on, with free agent Ryan Manning also likely on his radar.
Southampton will lose a number of their first-team stars this summer as they recalibrate their squad for life in the Championship. They'll cut their cloth accordingly but will still be one of - if not the - division's highest spenders. Some familiar faces may well be on the new man's wishlist.
Once Martin has got his feet under the table at St Mary's, Swansea should brace themselves for another call from the south coast of England, if history is anything to go by.
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