Breakdown of disastrous recruitment leading to Southampton relegation

Granted, much of that expenditure was placed on unproven youthful talent but this was still a completely new approach to the transfer market.

Never under the previous regime had such a net spend even been considered, making Sport Republic’s first summer feel like the fresh dawn it was expected to be.

January continued the extensive - and in fairness ambitious - transfer activity as another £50m-worth of new additions arrived at the club.

READ MORE: Three steps Saints must take to correct this season and get back to Premier League

Yet, less than a year following their summer splurge, Saints find themselves headed to the Championship as comfortably the worst team in the Premier League and that thrilling business now looks far more questionable than it did at first glance.

The majority of Sport Republic’s 14 signings have proven underwhelming and deemed not good enough by at least one of Saints’ three managers.

In fact, only five of Saints' 14 signings have started at least 50% of the games they were at the club for and only one - Gavin Bazunu - hit the 75% mark.

All the failed recruitment is no doubt a major reason for Saints’ Premier League demise and we’ve picked through the bones of some very worrying spending…

Gavin Bazunu

Games Started: 89%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 33 - Current

Brought in from Manchester City as Saints’ first signing of the summer, Bazunu was initially tasked with challenging for the number one shirt against Alex McCarthy.

But a bright pre-season saw Bazunu begin as Saints’ starter where he remained until the 33rd game of the campaign when he was finally dropped for his experienced competition. 

McCarthy is far from good enough, that much has been clear over the past couple of years, but we say 'finally' because Bazunu should have and could have been dropped countless times prior.

High-profile error followed high-profile error behind a jittery defence that seemed more and more nervous throughout the season. It's not Bazunu's fault that he was signed nor was it his fault that he started so many games. But Saints' reliance on the Irish international will go down as a major reason for their demise.

Armel Bella-Kotchap

Games Started: 67%

Period Frozen Out: None

It’s been an inconsistent campaign for Bella-Kotchap since his move from Bochum although much of that inconsistency has been due to injury. Shoulder, knee, and hamstring issues have cost him almost a third of his season.

He has been primarily a regular otherwise and overall can consider his first season in the Premier League as a success.

Romeo Lavia

Games Started: 67%

Period Frozen Out: None

The shining light of last summer’s recruitment, Lavia has been constantly impressive during his maiden season of professional football.

Likely to be Saints’ player of the year, Lavia has frequently shown up when some of his more experienced teammates have failed to do so. He’ll be purused by many of the wealthiest clubs in England this summer.

Sekou Mara

Games Started: 11%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 31-35

Seen as an opportunistic signing for the future due to Bordeux’s financial problems last summer, Mara ended up playing a far bigger role than would have been expected in August.

He has been in the squad on 33 occasions although he has started just four games. Scorer of one Premier League goal it’s pretty evident that he isn’t ready for this level and he was largley ignored down the stretch, failing to get on the pitch in five consecutive games leading up to Saturday's defeat to Fulham.

Samuel Edozie

Games Started: 16%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 24-30 and 32 - Current

Another one from the bucket of unproven youngsters, Edozie took a while to acclimate to this level as Ralph Hasenhuttl relied on others during the end of his tenure.

But Hasenhuttl’s sacking and the appointment of Nathan Jones proved a real blessing for the winger.

Edozie went on to appear in all eight of Jones’s Premier Legaue matches, starting five of them. And really, he looked bright despite his lack of end product.

But Edozie’s season essentially ended when Selles took over, the 20 year old playing only 24 minutes under the Spaniard while being left out of the squad 11 of 14 times.

Jaun Larios

Games Started: 6%

Period Frozen Out: N/A

It’s really impossible to know how Larios’s season would have gone without injury as the left-back has been absent since November’s 3-1 defeat at Anfield.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Games Started: 42%

Period Frozen Out: None, although only 13 total starts

It’s an extremely concerning reflection of Saints’ transfer business that Maitland-Niles stands out as an exception to the norm of players being frozen out for parts of the season.

The Arsenal loanee has started 13 games in a Saints shirt at a combination of left-back, right-back, and central midfield. Largely unconvincing he has also been left out of the squad five times although they didn’t occur in one ignored swoop like some of his teammates.

Joe Aribo

Games Started: 33%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 24-30 and 32 - Current

Considered one of the bargains of the summer when he joined for £6m from Rangers, it’s been a disastrous season for Aribo. A regular for large swathes under Hasenhuttl, Aribo flashed his ability in moments but struggled for consistency.

Still, he would have been expected to play a fairly large role in the second half of the campaign. But he’s appeared in just one of 14 games under Selles and been left out of the squad entirely nine times.

Perhaps too languid for a relegation battle, you would have hoped Saints could find room for someone with his game-changing ability.

Duje Caleta-Car

Games Started: 29%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 22-28 and 34-37

The experienced defensive signing to replace Jan Bednarek and compliment Armel Bella-Kotchap, it’s been a fairly mediocre maiden season in England for Caleta-Car.

He’s started only nine games in the Premier League, been left out of the squad for seven, and failed to get off the bench in a further 11.

Since February he’s played in just three games, falling down the pecking order and clearly not relied upon when the going has gotten tough. Another relatively bizarre case in this list of many.

Mislav Orsic

Games Started: 0%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 22 - Current

Maybe the most bizarre of all, Orsic has played a grand total of six Premier League minutes since arriving at St Mary’s in January.

Neither Jones nor Selles has offered a real reason for his total lack of action but it must go down as one of the worst pieces of business – and scouting – in Premier League history. A complete and utter disaster.

Kamaldeen Sulemana

Games Started: 56%

Period Frozen Out: None, but just one start in Saints' last five

Signed for a club-record fee in January, Kamaldeen has been in the squad for all 16 games since his arrival, starting nine of them.

One of the more successful additions on this list, Kamaldeen has made some sort of impact at least although he’s clearly still incredibly raw.

One assist and zero goals provides evidence for that and while Saints might have a great player for their future, in hindsight it seems incredibly strange to spend so much on someone who had proven so little with only five goals in one-and-a-half seasons in France.

Another who Selles has decided shouldn't be relied upon with relegation looming, Kamaldeen has started just one of his side's last five league matches.

Paul Onuachu

Games Started: 25%

Period Frozen Out: None, but just one start in Saints' last 12

Last summer, Saints and Hasenhuttl were desperate for a marquee striker. It never arrived. By January, they were maybe even more desperate and still it didn’t seem the striker would arrive.

But on deadline day, Sport Republic dug deep to spend £18m on Onuachu.

Prolific in Belgium with 79 league goals in 114 games for Genk, the towering forward flashed promise initially before being almost entirely cut adrift under Selles.

Onuachu’s start against Fulham was his first in his side’s last 12 Premier League games. Another who Selles decided could not be relied upon at the most crucial point of the season. Another example of appalling scouting or appalling management. Or a combination of the two.

James Bree

Games Started: 13%

Period Frozen Out: Matchweek 24 - Current

Admittedly, the stakes for Bree were rather low with a miniscule transfer fee in comparison to the total net spend.

A gift of sorts for former boss Nathan Jones, Bree immediately became a starter in the Welshman’s team. Unsurprisingly, those opportunities completely dried up when Jones was sacked.

He’s played once in his side’s last 14 games and only been in the squad twice.

Charly Alcaraz

Games Started: 61%

Period Frozen Out: None

THE major exception of the January window, Alcaraz has been a revelation. Joining from Racing Club in his native Argentina, Alcaraz needed virtually no time to adapt, becoming a fan-favourite almost overnight.

Scorer of four goals in the league – good for Saints’ third top scorer – Alcaraz has been pivotal to his side’s best performances and should be a huge player in the Championship should he stick around.