Southampton: Fresh 'selling club' claim emerges after St. Mary's takeover

Southampton ‘remain a selling club’ despite their recent takeover by Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak, according to The Sun journalist Tom Barclay.

The Saints have historically sold their best players to their more affluent rivals before giving young promising talent an opportunity to shine, and it doesn’t seem as though that approach is going to change just yet.

Since their return to the Premier League at the beginning of 2012/13, a host of top talents have departed Southampton for some of the biggest clubs in England.

The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana joined Liverpool, while Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin exited St. Mary’s for Manchester United.  

Calum Chambers was also picked up by Arsenal, and their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur prised midfielders Victor Wanyama and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg away from the Saints as well.

However, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s charges have often successfully replaced their outgoing stars with youngsters who are full of potential.

Kyle Walker-Peters, Mohammed Salisu and Tino Livramento are some of the most recent additions to excite the Southampton faithful as their business model of buying cheap youngsters before developing them and selling them on for a healthy profit continues to excel.

Solak, founder of United Group, has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Southamptton, bringing an end to the majority ownership of Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng.

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However, the change in ownership failed to bring in any new acquisitions during the January transfer window, and Barclay doesn’t believe that they will change their approach in the market.

He told GiveMeSport: