Nathan Redmond signed from Norwich early in the 2016 close season for a fee – according to the BBC – of £10m as Saints were on the hunt for a new manager. Ronald Koeman had just departed for Everton and it took a while to appoint his successor, Claude Puel, but no sooner had he become manager he made a rod for the attacking winger’s back by comparing him to Thierry Henry with whom he had worked with at Monaco. If that particular monkey was not a burden enough Redmond was then regarded as a direct replacement for Sadio Mané when the little African was allowed to join Liverpool. No pressure then for a man still only 22 years old.

To be fair Redmond initially made a good attempt to live up to the hype and in his first three seasons, in a struggling side playing under four different managers, made 37, 31 and 38 Premier League starts and scoring 14 goals. He was even capped by England in March 2017 (coming on as a 66th minute substitute vs Germany) and finished 2018-19 as Player-of-the-Year as voted by the fans and his fellow pros.

But then things started going backwards (or sideways) as he developed a frustrating habit of being less direct, often preferring to take the easier option with the ball at his feet and in his last few seasons the manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl often preferred to bring him on from the bench rather than start him. He still had his moments, most notably in the FA Cup at Bournemouth and putting the icing on a 4-0 League Cup win at Fratton Park, but the fan base were very much split on whether he remained an asset to the club. In the close season of 2022, and with just a year left on his contract, he took advantage of the Turkish transfer window shutting later than the rest of Europe and made a move to Besiktas with Saints reportedly able to bank a fee of £4m. He was still only 28 and it was a surprise that no club in the Championship took a gamble on a player who had once been good enough to represent his country. perhaps the last word should go to a manager who got to know him well. Ralph Hasenhuttl said this the day Redmond left for Turkey “He’s the kind of footballer that splits the opinion of who is watching him”.

He returned from Turkey after a season and signed for Burnley but a freak training accident in January 2024 sidelined him for more than a year.