Southampton have developed a reputation for being a fantastic place for players to progress their careers and seal bigger moves elsewhere over the years.
Who are Southampton’s record sales?
Many players have passed through the halls at St. Mary’s on their way to some of the biggest clubs in Europe after being picked up by the Saints at the start of their respective careers.
Player | Fee received |
|---|---|
Virgil van Dijk | £72.7m |
Romeo Lavia | £53.3m |
Sadio Mane | £35.4m |
Luke Shaw | £32.2m |
Tino Livramento | £31.9m |
Fees via Transfermarkt.
These are the top five biggest sales in the club’s history to date and there have been a number of talents who have been sold for significant fees below that after honing their skills on the south coast.
One player whom Southampton hit the jackpot with was English winger Nathan Tella, who recently departed Russell Martin’s side during the summer transfer window.
How much did Southampton sign Tella for?
The Saints snapped the talented wizard up on a free transfer from then-fellow Premier League side Arsenal after the top-six club opted against handing him a new contract.
He did not do enough to earn an extension with the Gunners ahead of the 2017/18 campaign which allowed Southampton to secure his services for £0.
Norwich City, who have also built a reputation for developing young talents like Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey Emi Buendia, and James Maddison, invited the 17-year-old prospect to train with the Norfolk-based side but he decided to make the move to the south coast instead.
Tella had only scored one goal in nine U18 league matches for Arsenal during the 2016/17 season but scored one goal in one game on trial with the Canaries before eventually ending up with Southampton.
The exciting forward went on to enjoy an impressive spell at U21 level with the Saints as he produced 12 goals and seven assists in 46 appearances.
His form for the academy side led to him making his Premier League debut against, ironically, Norwich during the 2019/20 campaign.
However, Tella found it difficult to deliver consistently impressive performances in the top flight over the following two seasons as Ralph Hasenhuttl offered him plenty of opportunities to impress.
He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.54 across 18 Premier League outings throughout the 2020/21 season as he contributed with just one goal and one assist from out wide.
The young prospect followed that up with an average Sofascore rating of 6.39 over 14 league matches the following campaign, which included ten starts, as the former Arsenal prodigy failed to deliver a single goal and produced one assist.
Tella ranked 25th out of 25 players in the Southampton squad with that dismal Sofascore rating, which shows that he was one of the team’s worst performers that term, if not the worst.
How many goals did Tella score for Burnley?
His poor form at Premier League level for Hasenhuttl’s side led to a season-long loan move to Burnley in the Championship in 2022, which is where the English hotshot was able to thrive.
Tella caught the eye with his goalscoring prowess for the Clarets as he ended the campaign with 17 league goals to his name, to go along with five assists and an average Sofascore rating of 6.82.
Vincent Kompany, who described the talented phenom as a “raw diamond”, got the best out of the Saints loanee and helped him to become one of the best players in the division.
The 24-year-old’s fantastic performances were recognised by his peers as he made it into the PFA Championship Team of the Year for the 2022/23 campaign. This means that the other players in the league voted him as one of the most impressive attackers at that level, illustrating how successful his time at Turf Moor was.
His sublime form for Burnley was also reflected in his market value. At the time of his move to Kompany’s side, FootballTransfers rated his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at just €2.7m (£2.3m).
This soared to a whopping xTV of €10m (£8.6m) by May of this year due to his displays for the Championship title-winners, skyrocketing by a whopping 270% within the space of less than 12 months.
How much did Southampton sell Tella for?
The Saints opted to cash in on Tella whilst his stock was high as they decided to sell him to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of £20m this summer.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed how much the total package could end up being worth to Southampton and added that they have a sell-on clause that could net the club another payday in the future if he moves on again.
This came after the 24-year-old whiz enjoyed a strong start to the 2023/24 campaign with Martin’s side. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.30 across three Championship appearances as the talented maestro scored one goal and provided one assist from out wide.
The £20m-rated ace did initially think that his assist was a goal, as shown in the video above, as his strike from distance against Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day deflected in off his teammate Adam Armstrong’s head.
Tella, who made 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game for the Saints this term, currently holds the fourth-highest average Sofascore rating within the squad, although only five matches have been played so far.
He has only made one appearance for Bayer Leverkusen since making the switch to Germany, which came as a substitute in a 5-1 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt last week.
Southampton will now be hoping that the English forward is able to rip up the German top flight in the same way that he excelled for Burnley. Such an eventuality could ensure that he makes another big-money switch and earns them even more money thanks to their sell-on clause.
However, even if the former Arsenal prospect ends up being a flop for Leverkusen, there is no doubt that the Saints hit the jackpot by snapping him up for free in 2017.
The club turned a free agent academy signing into a £20m sale within the space of seven years and they deserve immense credit, as do Burnley and Kompany for their role in his development, for that outstanding piece of business.
