Unable to win a professional contract with Reading, Charlie Austin found employment his father’s business, Austin’s Brickworks as a bricklayer, a job he continued with after the family relocated to Bournemouth and he joined Poole Town. Prolific scoring for the Dolphins, (he averaged over a goal a game) brought him to the attention of Eddie Howe at Bournemouth and the ‘Cherries’ were keen to sign him after a trial, but their transfer embargo scuppered their plans and Swindon Town jumped in smartly to seal a £50,000 deal.

He made light of moving up six tiers in the football pyramid and continued to find the net regularly, which meant Swindon soon came under pressure to sell and in the transfer window of 2011 he moved to Turf Moor and Championship football. The goals continued to flow and Hull City, recently promoted to the Premier League, tried to buy him only for the deal to collapse when Charlie failed a medical owing to a problem with his knees. Harry Redknapp, then with QPR, knew a bargain when he saw one and unable to resist a gamble brought him to Loftus Rd where his form propelled the west-London side into the top-flight.

Again, playing at a higher level did not mean the goals dried up, but he could not stop Rangers getting relegated after just one season and it was then that Ronald Koeman became interested, especially as the fee was only £4m.

He had a dream start for the Saints, coming on at Old Trafford in the 79^th minute, he headed a James Ward-Prowse free kick to earn his new side three points.

It was an auspicious start but he never quite capitalised on it, as a succession of managers, a few injuries – including a dislocated shoulder – all contributed to his St Mary’s career being a stop and start affair, which included him making more appearances as a substitute then starts. But he certainly maintained his finishing ability and never looked short of confidence – or opinions – but was lacking in pace and in the 2018-19 season, as he approached his 30^th birthday he appeared to slow even more and didn’t always look fully fit.

Ralph Hasenhuttl liked players who had speed and so the writing was on the wall. In the ensuing close season, the manager brought in Ché Adams and told Austin he was surplus to requirements. That did not go down well, harsh words were exchanged with a result he left Southampton on deadline day for West Brom for a similar fee to the one Saints had paid Queens Park Rangers.