Southampton met another transfer rebel in the form of a shortlisted target as in February, but the best part is they were not the only declined club.
In every window, there are starting day deals commanding all the spotlight for being completed. They might have been in the works for a long time, but getting a layer of transfer announcement boosts them with the hype of the hour.
Even so, every market can't be a bidding hub without a finish date, where sighting recruitments is so routine and occassionally yawn-worthy, that cancelled moves attract more gaze on the day.
Jonathan Ikone was one such selected Southampton target who generated euphoria for his PSG roots, but that made it quite comprehensible why he could be reluctant to be at Saints. And he didn't create any chaos by rejecting offers and not stepping a foot outside of his parent club at all.
Bournemouth man imitated Ligue 1 ace's Southampton response
It may appear a minimal aspect but Southampton has seen the unpleasant rollercoasters a transfer saga brings. In February, they missed out on a Strasbourg defender only to know his rumours came to nothing.
If that can happen in a month's timeframe, then you know it's a miracle if no such stories emerge after a three-month summer window. Without twisting the truth, the Saints were also keen on a Bournemouth transfer rebel.
He is their fringe player, Romain Faivre with the Bournemouth Echo suggesting in their words: "The midfielder was offered Leicester, Southampton, Birmingham, Copenhagen and Verona to speak to, but Faivre did not want to."
Now, the midfield sector has been revised and replenished, repetitively at St. Mary's. So, estimating the on-field blow Saints might have to bear with Faivre's no is a tiresome task at present.