Graziano Pelle certainly made his impact at St Mary’s during his two-year stay on the south coast.
The Italian, who was reunited with Ronald Koeman when making the move to England back in 2014, turned out on 80 occasions for The Saints.
He netted 30 times and set up 10 more for the club, ending with a goal involvement in every other game in all competitions.
The Saints finished seventh and sixth in the Premier League with Pelle as the main central attacking outlet before selling the striker to Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng Taishan in a deal which eventually rose to £13.73million.
But how has Pelle been getting on since leaving St Mary’s over four years ago?
Now 35, his valuation has plummeted to just £2.16million, his lowest in eight years.
However, that’s mainly down to his age, as the forward has enjoyed his time on the pitch over in China.
He’s made 127 appearances for Shandong Luneng Taishan, scoring 62 times and providing 23 assists.
That’s a goal or assist every 124 minutes, a better record than a goal involvement every 160 minutes during his time with The Saints.
His average WhoScored match rating has also climbed since leaving England.
Pelle’s final Premier League campaign saw him finish with an average match rating of 7.08, a figure which has increased every year since, with his 2019 average a career-high of 7.79.
Southampton receiving just under £14million back in 2016 for a 30-year-old who had just 12 months left on his deal was a shrewd move.
However, the transfer has also proven to be a good one for Pelle, who has gone from strength to strength in China in the latter stages of his career.
