Southampton have little time to waste this summer as they look to assemble a squad capable of Premier League survival.
Manager Russell Martin will be looking forward to his first taste of top flight management, having worked his way up from League One via MK Dons, Swansea City and now Southampton.
Whilst the 38-year-old will want to keep the bulk of his squad together, there will be some players who will need to be upgraded on or phased out given the step up in quality associated with Premier League football.
Fans will hope owners Sport Republic have learned from the previous mistakes that culminated in relegation in the 2022/23 season, with Southampton’s record signing Kamaldeen Sulemana having scored just two goals since signing just one example of poor recruitment.
It would not be a surprise to see the Saints break their £22 million transfer record again this summer in a quest to bolster their survival bid, though.
With that in mind, the following are the most expensive summer signings ahead of each of the past ten seasons with statistics taken from Transfermarkt.
Southampton’s marquee signings for the past ten summer transfer windows
2023/24 – Shea Charles
- Price: £15 million
- Signed from: Manchester City
- Southampton appearances: 38
2022/23 – Gavin Bazunu
- Price: £12 million
- Signed from: Manchester City
- Southampton appearances: 78
2021/22 – Adam Armstrong
- Price: £15 million
- Signed from: Blackburn Rovers
- Southampton appearances: 119
2020/21 – Kyle Walker-Peters
- Price: £12 million
- Signed from: Tottenham Hotspur
- Southampton appearances: 167
2019/20 – Danny Ings
- Price: £20 million
- Signed from: Liverpool
- Southampton appearances: 100
2018/19 – Jannik Vestergaard
- Price: £18 million
- Signed from: Borussia Monchengladbach
- Southampton appearances: 79
2017/18 – Mario Lemina
- Price: £15 million
- Signed from: Juventus
- Southampton appearances: 52
2016/17 – Sofiane Boufal
- Price: £16 million
- Signed from: Lille
- Southampton appearances: 84
2015/16 – Virgil van Dijk
- Price: £13 million
- Signed from: Celtic
- Southampton appearances: 80
2014/15 – Sadio Mane
- Price: £11.8 million
- Signed from: RB Salzburg
- Southampton appearances: 75