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Southampton: Five of Saints’ best ever January signings

By Marc Walker

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Billy Sharp of Southampton celebrates scoring the opening goal during the npower Championship match between Southampton and Portsmouth at St Mary's Stadium on April 7, 2012 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Billy Sharp of Southampton celebrates scoring the opening goal during the npower Championship match between Southampton and Portsmouth at St Mary's Stadium on April 7, 2012 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Jose Fonte of Southampton celebrates as he scores their third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium on December 26, 2015 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Jose Fonte of Southampton celebrates as he scores their third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium on December 26, 2015 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) /

Jose Fonte

It was somewhat surprising that Fonte chose to drop down to League One to join Saints from Championship side Crystal Palace in 2010.

However, it proved to be a superb move for both the club and the player and his leadership was crucial to two back-to-back promotions.

After joining for a fee of around £1.2m, he went on to make 286 appearances at St Mary’s and stayed as a regular until a dispute saw him move to West Ham.

He has since played for Dalian Yifang in the Chinese Super League and now turns out for Lille in Ligue 1.