Stuart Armstrong was a stylish, intelligent attacking midfielder who arrived at St Mary’s having won plenty of silverware north of the border with Celtic. He had won his first of more than 50 international caps the year before becoming a Saint and he adapted to Premier League football with the minimum of fuss although he was never the most robust of players. Whenever Stuart played well then the result was usually the team played well such was his influence and link-up play. Prone to pick up injuries it was a great pity that he was to miss the 2024 Wembley Play-Off Final v Leeds for it would have been a fitting way to finish off his six years in red and white stripes. As it was his contract ran out in the ensuing summer which meant he became a free agent and although he was now 32 there appeared to be various Premier League clubs interested, including Brentford, for whom he had a trial, during pre-season. However it was to the west coast of Canada where Stuart eventually headed, although it wasn’t long before he retuned.