Bid £25m, now worth 4x less: Saints prevented disaster by missing out on 30-y/o dud - opinion

For the majority of the 2017/18 Premier League season, Southampton were in serious relegation trouble as Mark Hughes’ late appointment in the place of Mauricio Pellegrino ultimately saved the Saints from dropping down to the Championship.

With the south coast club in danger, they sought to break their transfer fee record by signing Dutch winger Quincy Promes from Russian outfit Spartak Moscow. The Saints reportedly bid £25m for the then-26-year-old, with Spartak holding out for £30m, but a deal was never completed in time.

Fast forward four years and Southampton are still in the English top flight and are targeting a first top-half finish in five years, whilst Promes is back at Spartak after spells with Sevilla and Ajax. However, there has been plenty of controversy surrounding the Netherlands international.

This week it was reported that the winger is set to face attempted murder charges according to Dutch prosecutors, having been arrested in December 2020 in connection with a stabbing of his cousin which occurred earlier that year.

Whilst Promes faces serious business off of the pitch, there hasn’t been much success on it either.

After a proposed move to Southampton failed, the Dutchman finished the 2017/18 season in Russia before making the switch to Spain to play for Sevilla.

Upon signing for the Andalucian club, Promes’ market value was at its peak according to Transfermarkt, with the winger valued at £21.6m. However, by the end of the 2018/19 campaign, his value had fallen to £16.2m.

The Dutchman only lasted one season in Seville after scoring just five goals in 56 appearances across all competitions, returning to his homeland to play for Dutch giants Ajax.

Promes’ start to life in Amsterdam was excellent as he