The imbalance at the top in the Premier League means that smaller clubs such as Southampton have to rely on player sales to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United to build for their future.
The South Coast outfit have never finished higher than than sixth in a Premier League campaign, when they managed to qualify for Europe under Ronald Koeman in 2015-16. And for the most part, the reason behind their struggle to keep up the momentum over the years has been the loss of several key players.
One can only imagine what the Saints could have done if they had kept that team together, and also the manager too, after Koeman left to take over at Everton. Southampton clearly did not want to sell Virgil van Dijk, who had become a colossus at the back under Koeman and his successor Claude Puel.
