Southampton are not the only club to base their transfer policy on Manchester City's finely-tuned approach - but they are the most obvious.
Some sides have looked at City's multi-club model, while others have realised there is value to be made in sniffing around the City Football Academy for players who are not quite good enough for Pep Guardiola's first team.
Get it right, and there can be serious profit to be made by snapping up City academy talent. A couple of years ago, the going rate for a City academy was about £10m.
That fee is closer now to the £20m mark for the best talent, with Cole Palmer's £42m switch to Chelsea an academy record but also a tantalising glimpse of the raw potential hiding within the Etihad Campus. ALSO READ: 'Big mistake' - Why Guardiola would prefer Man City didn't have Southampton next ALSO READ: Begiristain transfer stance to be tested one more time after Man City bombshell City have earned almost £200m in transfer fees from selling academy players in just three summers.