Saints must sing praises of their transfers-related board for dodging the second Phillipe Coutinho deal else, they would be in Aston Villa's miserable situation.
There is still a lot to play for Southampton in the present transfer window but their all-time record sale is well placed to remain unscathed for another year. One, which was last broken by Virgil Van Dijk when he fell short by a quarter of the transfer fee to reach the nine-figure landmark.
However, the bitter truth is that milestone could've been completed the same season itself and by one of Van Dijk's early Liverpool teammates. As reflected in a report from The Sun, Southampton came agonizingly closer to bringing Phillipe Coutinho to St. Mary's but stumbled at the final hurdle.
Later, every Premier League fan knows the big-money Coutinho departure where the Saints were left with no other choice but to regret the missed profit that went to the Reds' books.
Saints couldn't swoop Coutinho again but for the better
Yet, every transfer opportunity neither stands a winnable chance nor a regrettable idea forever in the window and merely five years later, things again came back to square one. The year 2022 had just begun and the Saints were peeping at a redemption prospect of at least bagging a couple of prolific seasons from the Brazilian playmaker.
And things were only becoming better with the wide attacker getting rumoured with every mid-table and bottom table English sides. Despite that, Southampton fans endured a second Coutinho disappointment, this time losing him to Aston Villa.
Fast forward to now, and that momentous frustration at the board was clearly worth it. The reason is that Sky Sports has confirmed him putting a nightmarish end to his forgettable Villa stay.
Overall, the St. Mary's faithful can opt to vent their displeasure for letting one of English football's talented superstars slip from their radar but the due credit must be given to the transfer chiefs for avoiding a risky £17m call at the second time of asking.