Southampton fans will be delighted by the news that the money received for Mateus Fernandes has been spent wisely on three inspired signings in a volley of transfer activity on Friday.
First to be announced was Middlesbrough's highly influential central attacking midfielder, Finn Azaz. Saints have secured his sevices for £12m in a four-year-deal. The fee is set to rise to £14m with add-ons.
Azaz is the perfect replacement for Fernandes. In 93 appearances at this level, Azaz has 46 goal contributions to his name in just 93 appearances for Boro and Plymouth Argyle.
Azaz told the Southampton website “I'm really happy to be here and I'm really, really excited to prove that I can play for a Premier League Club.“
Finn [Azaz] is a player with tremendous ability
Southampton's group technical director, Johannes Spors, was equally as excited about Azaz signing for the Saints, saying “Finn is a player with tremendous ability who will bring extra creativity to boost our attacking options.“
Second through the door yesterday was German youth international, Caspar Jander.
Jander, signed from German club FC Nuremberg, told the Southampton Club media that he is at the club to win and that he “hates the feeling of losing,“ as quoted in the Daily Echo.
The 22-year-old midfielder is very much in the mould of both Flynn Downes and Shea Charles. He gives everything on the pitch and likes to play against the ball, although he is effective with the ball.
Jander is the third German-born player to join this summer. He brings the advantage of knowing both Joshua Quarshie and Damion Downs, who hold dual nationality. Jander has played alongside Quarshie in Shalke's youth system and played against both in 2. Bundesliga last season.
The third player to be announced on a fantastic Friday for Saints fans was West Brom's exciting winger Tom Fellows.
Tom Fellows is an under-21 European Championship winner with England
Another young player, Fellows is like Ronnie Edwards, an under-21 European Championship winner with England. Saints paid the Baggies a surprisingly low £8m initial fee.
Fellows has described the move as “a really big opportunity,“ as per the Daily Echo.
The signings of these three midfielders look like great business on the surface. Fellows likes to play with width and Still will have the opportunity to play him on the right-side ahead of another new signing Mads Roerslev at right-back/midfield.
Azaz will offer direct competition to Ryan Fraser who is fast becoming a utility player under manager, Will Still.
Jander is an entirely necessary signing with great potential
Jander is an entirely necessary signing. Both Charles and Downes have worked extremely hard in the opening matches and Jander provides Still with more opportunities to rotate players in the engine room. It did not take Still long to deduce that Will Smallbone wasn't quite up to the task.
As the transfer window begins to draw to a close, Spors may be more concerned about getting a few more out of the door, either on loan or permanently.
However, Saints continue to be linked with Leo Scienza. We reported on Friday that Saints were close to reaching an agreement with FC Heidenheim for the Brazilian born 26-year-old attacker.
So, as Southampton prepare for life after Fernandes and Dibling, Saints fans should be very grateful that Still is being backed in the transfer market. It may take a few weeks after the International break for all of the new signings to find their feet at St Mary's. When they do, there is not a squad in the division that can compete.