Southampton have to be getting used to seeing their stars leave for Liverpool, with Sadio Mane following the career trajectory of many former Saints in joining the Reds.
His £34m move means he carries on the tradition started by the likes of Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren.
The south coast outfit are acting quickly to replace him, eyeing up someone who has become a regular feature of the gossip columns.
According to The Sun, they are willing to pay £16m to bring Saido Berahino to St Mary’s and he would be able to take over from Mane nicely.
Looking at how he performed in 2015/16 may lead many to question bringing in the West Brom man, but there are reasons for his questionable form.
The 22-year-old hasn’t hid from the fact that he wants to leave the Hawthorns and this led to him being dropped for several stretches of the season, while he also must have been feeling unsettled in the Midlands due to the continued transfer furore surrounding him.
Therefore, if you were going to compare Southampton’s latest target to the man who has just left them, it would be fairer to compare how they have done in their best campaigns.
In regards to goalscoring, this term was Mane’s strongest, with the Senegal international registering 11 times in the Premier League.
Conversely, Berahino shone in 2014/15 when he struck 14 times in the top flight, doing so having played one more game than his counterpart.
That seemingly gives the 22-year-old an advantage, so Southampton can expect to add more of a threat to their attack if they do bring in the wantaway Baggie, although Mane is more of a winger than a central striker.
Furthermore, his spread of goals is much more favourable than what the 24-year-old has mustered.
Indeed, six of Mane’s 11 strikes this term came in the final five games of the domestic season.
In contrast, Berahino shared the amount he registered equally, netting seven in 2014 and 2015, so the Saints should look forward to more consistency which would surely help them in challenging for a higher league finish.
Seeing Southampton finish in the top four is priced at 12/1.
