Southampton and Celtic are no strangers to board room dealings when it comes to the transfer of players.
Over the years the St Mary's outfit have chucked big money in the direction of the Scottish champions in order to snap up top talents from the east end of Glasgow. It's a relationship that goes back years now and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. The most recent name to be linked with the English Premier League outfit is attacker Liel Abada.
We told yesterday how Saints were said to be preparing a £10million move for the 21-year-old with the Parkhead club reported to be ready to hear out interested parties after talks over a pay rise to get him to commit to an extended deal in Glasgow failed. Those talks are believed to have reached a stalemate with no sign of anything changing. It follows Macabbi Petka Tivka chief Avi Luzon claiming the Celtic ace wanted to be SOLD this summer with a move to England 90 per cent likely in an interview with One Sport. Daizen Maeda is another who has been namechecked in recent times.
Should Celtic decide to cash in and do a deal with Southampton - who are fighting for their English Premier League survival - Abada would join a successful list of players who made the jump between the two clubs. Glasgow Live Sport takes a look at the past transfers between the pair.
READ MORE: Liel Abada in Celtic injury six word response as update 'revealed' after Israel fear
Virgil van Dijk
This is the big name that springs to mind.
The Netherlands international joined Celtic in 2013 and after two years at the club earned a shot at the riches of the EPL.
Southampton came calling in 2015 and splashed out £13million to take him south of the border.
The 24-year-old agreed a five-year deal and instantly became a hit at St Mary's with his performances alerting the big clubs.
His stint with Saints was short-lived as he secured a world record £75m deal with Liverpool.
The rest is history since then helping the Reds win the Champions League and English Premier League under Jurgen Klopp.
Victor Wanyama
Another gem of a find from Celtic in the transfer market ended up in a big financial windfall.
Neil Lennon splashed out just £900k on the midfielder as a 20-year-old and he quickly established himself as a key player and fans' favourite.
He went on to land the Scottish Premier League's Young Player of the Year award during his time north of the border and scored a memorable Champions League goal against Barcelona in a 2-1 win that is still talked about to this day.
That sort of form alerted Southampton to his services and made them willing to spend £12.5m to secure his services. A huge turn of profit on their initial investment for the Hoops.
Like Van Dijk, Wanyama would move on from St Mary's a few years later and join EPL rivals Tottenham.
That move didn't work out as planned and he is now plying his trade with CF Montreal.
Stuart Armstrong
This one was one of the more recent dealings between the pair.
Back in 2018, the two clubs struck a deal believed to be in the £7million region for the Scotland international.
Celtic snapped him up in a deal from Dundee United - again making bank on the sell-on to the EPL outfit.
He scored 28 goals in three seasons with Celtic, with 17 of those coming in his first season under Brendan Rodgers.
Now an experienced midfielder hitting his peak aged 30, he's still plying his trade on the south coast.
Fraser Forster
The Fraser Forster/Celtic/Southampton triangle has quite a few twists and turns.
Initially spending two seasons on loan at Celtic, the Hoops shelled out in the region of £2million to land the goalkeeper on a long-term deal from Newcastle United.
Neil Lennon was a massive fan of the stopper and he produced huge moments across his spells at the club. Notable against Barcelona in the Champions League that earned the nickname La Gran Muralla 'The Great Wall' from the Spanish press. He was also in stunning form in a Celtic League Cup Final win over Rangers after a loan return to the club from St Mary's.
In 2014 a £10million transfer was thrashed out to take the England international back to England to provide competition for Hoops hero Artur Boruc - also on the books at the EPL outfit.
In 2019 the duo would come to an agreement to allow Forster to return to Celtic on a temporary deal - but despite the best efforts to thrash out another permanent stay, it didn't materialise with the keeper now on the books at Tottenham.
Moi Elyounossi
It wasn't always players heading out of Celtic for Southampton - this time the Hoops secured a huge asset.
In August 2019, Moi Elyounoussi joined Celtic on a season-long loan from Southampton.
The Norway international made a move from Basel to the Saints for £16million the summer before but didn't make as big an impact hoped.
A deal was agreed to send him north of the border - with no option to buy included - and he became a real hit with the Hoops faithful. He netted against Celtic for Molde previously so he was no stranger to the Parkhead crowd.
Seven goals in 22 appearances in his first season and 'a lot of positive messages' from Celtic fans convinced him to make a second season-long loan switch the next campaign after another deal was agreed.
After 24 goals and 14 assists across 67 games, his two years at Celtic came to an end with Southampton taking back the attacker into their fold.
He's still on the books at present with 30 appearances in all competitions this season as he bids to help them avoid the drop to the English Championship.
READ NEXT:
- Liel Abada in Celtic injury six word response as update 'revealed' after Israel fear
- Ben Doak lands prestigious NXGN list spot as ex-Celtic and Liverpool star joins global top talents
- Mikael Lustig reveals Celtic transfer exit option to Sevilla after just SIX MONTHS at Parkhead
