Matt O'Riley was out of Southampton's financial reach over a year ago. Now, Italian outfit Juventus could join them in carrying the same transfer agony.
Southampton transfer chatters have taken a lot of the shine from the Brighton fixture, that's how uncertain it's playing out. The way players have been packing their bags, an injury to an in-form starter is the only chaos left to unfold.
Ask tomorrow's visitors, they know how it feels having a star player go down with pain so soon. They experienced that horror last year with Matt O'Riley, who was centred around Southampton rumours only a month before jetting off for the Seagulls.
To know how close was that, the Scottish Sun report says it all about the disapproved £14m offer which shattered Southampton's quest for the £25m valued asset.
Saints will want to know if Juventus can secure O'Riley unlike them
Matt will be getting ready to take on Southampton again and his faceoff with Mateus Fernandes could be a good duel to watch. Not much separates the duo's playmaking knack and Serie A side Juventus agree with this line of thought.
Following faint and fruitless attempts at Mateus Fernandes before, Juventus have now decided to sit with Brighton for the 24-year-old.
According to a report from the Sky Sports, the Italians don't lack the sporting desire needed for the transfer but the most important fee can be a question mark for them too.
Consequently, O'Riley will be distanced away from European football nights for another set of twelve months following the previous season's.
Was he correct to arrive at Brighton, it's up to O'Riley to answer. For the Saints and possibly Juventus, they will have to map out conclusions whether their unaccepted bids worked in their favour towards the long run.