Ralph Hasenhuttl steadily had Southampton in the Premier League for most of his four-year spell as manager on the South Coast.
He did get handed the boot during the early stages of the 2022-23 season, as the Saints eventually slipped down to the Championship, but the Austrian is still fondly remembered to this day as a competent manager for the Saints.
Tonda Eckert will want to etch himself into the history books by guiding Southampton back to the big time at the end of this season, but it all rests on whether he will be handed a ban or not by the FA for his role in the Spygate fiasco.
Moving back to when Hasenhuttl was in charge of the Saints, though, the 58-year-old turned down the opportunity to sign this current World Cup star.
Hasenhuttl turned down the chance to sign this World Cup star
In 2023, it came to light that the South Coast titans had missed out on signing a whole load of exceptional talents, before they blossomed into Premier League regulars.
Indeed, it was reported by The Athletic that Southampton turned down the opportunity to pursue both Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen, before the pair became top-flight staples at Crystal Palace and West Ham United.
Eze is even out at the World Cup for Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions this summer, having been transformed into a £67m-level ace for Arsenal.
Alongside this exciting pairing, the Saints also foolishly never went after Michael Olise, with Hasenhuttl opting against signing the winger who is now lighting up the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich.
Putting away an electric 16 goals and 25 assists for Palace, it's only with the power of hindsight that we now know that the Frenchman was only getting started with these Selhurst Park numbers.
Last campaign, he tore the Bundesliga to shreds, alongside the illustrious Champions League, with a staggering 22 goals and 31 assists amassed in all competitions.
Unfortunately, Southampton aren't viewed as the club who kickstarted his journey to stardom, but in an alternate reality, Olise would have his strut his stuff in the Premier League with the Saints, and not Palace.
He has been dynamite on the international stage too for Les Bleus in recent times, as he bagged a confident hat-trick against Shea Charles' Northern Ireland in a friendly clash, just before the World Cup began.
He was, unsurprisingly, on top form again for Didier Deschamps and Co. versus Senegal in their Group I opener, with the 24-year-old arguably one of the world's most in-form players currently.
There will be regrets now...
Olise just doesn't seem fazed by whatever game is thrown his way.
Up to seven goals now for Les Bleus from 18 caps, the red-hot winger would get the ball rolling for France against Senegal when he effortlessly cut open Pape Thiaw and Co's defence for Kylian Mbappe to slot home.
Olise really took out three Senegal players with that ball.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 16, 2026
What an assist 😨 pic.twitter.com/GFCv1bzjBI
Amassing four key passes, while also completing all 100% of his dribbles in the New Jersey humidity, Deschamps will be looking for even more from Olise as France gun for the ecstasy of World Cup glory next month.
Southampton doesn't have even the smugness of cheering Olise from afar to latch onto, knowing he was once on the Saints' roster, before becoming arguably world-class.
Instead, they will be left with a sickening sense of what could have been if their paths had crossed, as the two-time Bundesliga champion is touted for a spectacular £130m move to Real Madrid, after the World Cup is over.
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