Southampton have produced plenty of high-quality talent that they have been forced into selling when a bigger club inevitably comes calling.
Normally these players will go on to bigger and better things, and for fans at St Mary’s, there is a quiet acceptance of this.
However, when they managed to get £16m for Calum Chambers in 2014 from Arsenal, it seemed like this reputation may have coerced the Gunners into a false sense of security surrounding the young defender.
If all their other exports had been a success, why wouldn’t he be too?
He had featured just 22 times in the Premier League the season prior to his sale at right-back and had not registered a goal or an assist.
Despite that, he had clearly done something which had piqued the interest of Arsene Wenger.
To see a player leave and actually regress must have been a welcome surprise for Saints fans, who are so used to watching their former players dominate the league and Europe.
Across his eight years at the Emirates, he featured just 122 times and contributed to 15 goals. His somewhat disappointing displays forced him out on two loans, neither of which sparked his career into life.
He has since moved on to Aston Villa, where Arsenal finally offloaded their £50k-per-week dud for an undisclosed fee.
Although, with his CIES Football Observatory value now at just €4m (£3.5m), it can be inferred that they recouped little on their initial investment.
The 27-year-old has seen his value plummet due to a lack of form and fitness, which has affected his ability to progress. Indeed, he has barely made a name for himself in the Midlands either, featuring on only 14 occasions for Steven Gerrard’s men since arriving last winter.
Journalist Zach Lowy included Chambers in his list of “average players” at Arsenal, seemingly dubbed out of frustration for the fee paid at the time.
He has never truly settled at either right-back or centre-back, which may have contributed to this lack of progression since leaving the south coast.
Regardless, the move represents one of the rare occasions where Southampton did not have their hand forced to sell one of their better players.
Chambers had impressed, but his absence was easily replaceable. Meanwhile, Arsenal will have been left feeling short-changed, as the Saints delight in their added wealth.