After relegation from the Premier League, there was a mass exodus at Southampton, but not all of them left permanently.
Here we take a look at three of Saints’ loanees who are excelling away from St Mary’s, who if all goes well will come back as better players for Russell Martin to use in his squad. All rating are according to WhoScored.
Paul Onuachu
Paul Onuachu joined Southampton in January from Belgian side Genk for £18.6 million, but failed to live up to expectations in the Premier League.
After again failing to make himself part of Martin’s plans, he was shipped out on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor last month.
The move to Turkey has brought Onuachu back to form though, with the Nigerian international scoring three times and getting one assist in the Turkish Super Lig, with an average rating of 7.61.
Lewis Payne
Lewis Payne is a right back who has predominantly been playing for Saints’ U21 side.
He spent the second half of last season on loan in the National League with Eastleigh, but only made two appearances for the Spitfires.
The 19-year-old has now made the step up to League Two with Newport County, and has so far made six appearances, with four of those coming from the bench.
He has one assist to his name so far this season, which came at home to Harrogate Town. A delightful cross from the right hand side met the feet of Will Evans to halve the deficit, but it was not enough to mount a comeback as they lost 2-1.
He has an average rating in League Two of 6.54.
Dom Ballard
Dom Ballard was a player who many thought would be given a chance in the first team this season by Martin, with a loan move looking unlikely for the 18-year-old.
On Deadline day, he then reunited with former Saints manager Ruben Selles at Reading, who are playing in the third tier for the first time in over 20 years.
Ballard has been a regular for the Royals upfront, and has played five times in League One so far season, starting three of those. He has an average rating in League One of 6.43.
So far he has scored three goals in all competitions, with his goal against Northampton at the start of the month has made him the youngest goal scorer in a League One so far this season. His other two goals came in the EFL Trophy, when Reading ran riot at Exeter, winning 9-0.