With Saints looking for an option in the right back spot, could one of their old boys be a solution to the problem ?
Nathaniel Clyne left St Mary's for Liverpool in the summer of 2015 after a great 3 years at Saints, but like several others who left the club in that period, he has not found the success he was hoping for.
In Clyne's case that has not all been his fault, injuries have hampered his progress after initially playing virtually every Premier League game in his first two seasons, but at the start of the third he suffered a back injury which kept him out for all but the final month or so of the season in 2017/18 and he was an unused sub in Liverpool's defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League Final.
By the start of 2018/19 Liverpool had a number of youngsters breaking through and Clyne was allowed to go on loan to Bournemouth in the January transfer window for the remainder of that season playing most of the remaining games.
His return to Liverpool perhaps saw him hope that he could force his way back into Jurgen Klopp's plans, but he suffered yet another serious setback an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund and he would make no appearances in this still continuing season.
He is now back to fitness, but with his contract now up Liverpool are saying goodbye, indeed without any match action in over a year they are not extending his deal to cover the rest of the season but allowing him to go now so he can look for another club.
Could that club be Saints ?
Clyne has only just turned 29 and as a free transfer this would represent no outlay for Saints other than wages, the only question is whether he has fully recovered from the ACL injury.
If he has then he represents a good signing for someone, that will not be one of the Big Six clubs, but there will be plenty of interest in the rest of the Premier League, of course some of them will feel they already have adequate options in the right back position, but certainly Saints haven't.
Therefore signing Clyne could be a good option for Saints, getting in experience in the short term whilst they consider other options, whether that be Yan Valery or bringing in someone else.