Alex Jankevitz was a youth player brought to Southampton from his native Switzerland as one very much for the future. The youngest of three brothers he had developed his love of the game through kicking a ball around his neighbourhood in Geneva where one of his coaches likened him to Paul Pogba.

He signed his first professional contract with the Saints in January 2019 when the official website described him as “a versatile midfielder.” He didn’t really appear near the first team until 2020-21 when he was given his debut off the bench v Shrewsbury in the 85th minute of a Third Round FA Cup-tie. Being given such little chance to shine there were rumours that he subsequently asked for a transfer, but Ralph Hasenhuttl decided to test his mettle by giving him his full debut at Old Trafford the following month.

What happened next will not easily be forgotten. In only the second minute he made a reckless challenge which gave the referee no choice but to flourish a red card and, down to 10 men, Saints crashed spectacularly to the second 9-0 defeat in as many seasons. Alex duly apologised to his team-mates for his rashness. Some supporters predicted he would emerge a better player for his calamitous full introduction into the Premier League but, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl apparently had a different view, for he was not given the chance to atone for his mistake and he never played again for the first team, transferring back to his native country for a fee of around £500,000 in the ensuing summer.