Southampton ended their 11-year stay in the Premier League at the end of last season as they were relegated back down to the Championship.
Their drop to the second tier of English football was a culmination of several years of poor recruitment as they failed to build a squad that was capable of comfortably avoiding relegation.
However, things could have been different if they were able to get some of the targets that they wanted and were unsuccessful in signing in the past.
Tino Livramento
£22.6m*
Danny Ings
£21.7m
Kamaldeen Sulemana
£21.6m
Jannik Vestergaard
£21.6m
Sadio Mane
£19.8m
*Includes the sell-on fee that Chelsea received from his move to Newcastle United this summer.
One player who the Saints failed to get a deal over the line for back in 2019 was a talented young gem who could have been their own version of Real Madrid and Croatia superstar Luka Modric.
Were Southampton interested in Yari Verschaeren?
In September 2019, it was reported that the club were interested in signing Belgian youngster Yari Verschaeren from Anderlecht, who was valued at around $15m (£12m) at the time.
The outlet claimed that the then-Premier League outfit were preparing an offer to sign the promising talent. However, a move never materialised and he remained in his home country.
Ralph Hasenhuttl was the manager of the club at the time and was seemingly keen to bolster his squad by adding the exciting midfielder to his ranks, but chairman Les Reed was unable, or opted not, to secure a deal.
Verschaeren had made his debut for the Belgium national team earlier that month and was starting to establish himself as a key player for Anderlecht at senior level.
The attacking midfielder assisted one goal in seven U19 games for the Belgian club and went on to make his first-team breakthrough during the 2018/19 campaign.
He produced one goal and four assists in ten Pro League games and then managed one strike in ten play-off matches at the end of the season.
The Saints target scored two goals and assisted one in 21 league outings for Anderlecht the following campaign as the English club showed interest in securing his services during that season.
What is Verschaeren doing now?
Since Southampton failed to snap him up during the 2019/20 term, Verschaeren has hit his stride at first-team level and been a consistently impressive performer in his home country over the last few years.
Earlier this year, Anderlecht head coach Brian Riemer lavished praise on the 22-year-old maestro as he described him as an "incredible" player who is "like Luka Modric".
This was supremely high praise from the Belgium international's manager as Luka Modric is a highly decorated midfielder who has been at the top of the game for many, many, years.
At the age of 22, Verschaeren still has plenty of time to reach those heights and make a name for himself in a major European league. However, he has been catching the eye with his performances for Anderlecht in recent seasons.
The talented ace, who was once valued at £12m, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.91 across 36 Pro League outings throughout the 2021/22 campaign and contributed with seven goals and four assists from midfield.
He followed that up with an average Sofascore rating of 6.95 over 27 league matches last season for the Belgian giants, in which time he scored one goal and created seven 'big chances' for his teammates.
Meanwhile, only Mohammed Salisu (7.04) and James Ward-Prowse (7.23) averaged a higher Sofacore rating in the Premier League for the Saints last term. This suggests that the Hasenhuttl target could have been a top performer for the club if he was bale to translate his performances over to English football.
The Modric-like ace also produced excellent performances on the European stage. Varschaeren averaged an excellent Sofascore rating of 7.19 over ten Europa Conference League clashes as he chipped in with two goals and two assists to go along with 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game.
As you can see in the chart above, the Anderlecht star ranks highly among his positional peers in the Men's Next 14 Competitions when it comes to progressing the ball through carries and making an impact at the top end of the pitch.
He is similar to Modric, in that sense, as the Real Madrid star also excels in these statistics among players in his position across the Men's Big Five League and European competitions.
Their respective statistics over the last 365 days suggest that they are similar in style as they are both exceptional at carrying the ball forward for their teams from a central midfield position, whilst they also have the quality to impact matches with goals and assists when they get into advanced areas.
However, Verschaeren has a long way to go before he can come close to matching Modric's status within the game, as the Croatia international has a hefty trophy cabinet.
How many trophies has Modric won for Real Madrid?
The 38-year-old wizard, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2018, has racked up 23 trophies during his time with the Spanish giants, which includes five Champions League titles, to date.
He has also amassed 495 appearances and contributed with 37 goals and 77 assists from midfield, which means that he has averaged one goal contribution every 4.34 games.
Whereas, Verschaeren has scored 23 goals and assisted 21 in 154 matches for Anderlecht so far. This works out as a direct goal involvement once every 3.57 outings on average.
Both players have proven that they are able to chip in with goals and assists on a semi-regular basis to go alongside their progressive carrying skills in the middle of the park.
Therefore, Hasenhuttl, Reed, and Southampton had a nightmare with their failure to sign Verschaeren from Anderlecht in 2019 as he has developed into an outstanding young talent who is now earning himself comparisons to a legendary player in his position.
They could have benefitted from his ability on the pitch, as shown by his aforementioned performance levels in comparison to last season's squad at St. Mary's, in the short-term whilst also having a player with the potential to grow and improve further.
