One player who will come back from the Euro's with his reputation improved rather than damaged will Be Graziano Pelle, but when he returns their will need to be some big decisions made.
Graziano Pelle has seen his stock rise having scored twice for Italy in France, however when he returns to St Mary's it will be to an uncertain future, albeit one that has plenty of promise for an extremely happy ending.
Through most of the season it looked like Pelle would return to his home country Italy in the close season and that view was strengthened by the signing of Charlie Austin who in many respects was his direct replacement.
Pelle has spoken of his desire to finish his career in Italy where he has never quite established himself in Serie A, having to go to Holland and now England to really prove how good he is and to win caps for his country.
Saints had let his contract run it's course and he is now about to enter the last year of it this week, so does he return to St Mary's in July to pack his bags or will Saints offer him a new deal ?
He still has a lot to offer, even though he will turn 31 in a few weeks, he was joint top scorer last season to add to the same accolade in his first at St Mary's, meaning that he has scored 23 Premier League goals in that time. A very good total seeing that he did not take penalties or free kicks, something that was a big part of Rickie Lambert's tally at the club.
He arrived at a difficult time in Saints history and had to step into the boots of crowd hero Rickie Lambert, something that a section of the crowd found hard to accept, but he did his job and made the £8 million we paid for him look a bargain.
He started this season very well and I would say that his performance in the 3-1 win at Chelsea was his best in a Saints shirt, but an injury in December saw Shane Long preferred from then on and the writing was on the wall when Austin arrived.
But his 11 goals from 23 starts plus another 7 off the bench are testimony to the fact that he still made a big contribution to the season, indeed several of his goals were the difference between 3 points or 1 or even none, indeed Mane might have got the plaudits for the comeback against Liverpool, but just as important in that game was Pelle's equaliser and perhaps more importantly a week earlier his brace in the 2-1 win at Stoke, this was perhaps the result that changed the course of the season, in eight days Pelle's goals had won us four points, they were the difference between sixth and ninth.
So the big question will be whether the new manager wants to see Pelle stay or whether he feels he has enough striking options or indeed wants to look elsewhere, even after the departure of Mane, Saints still have an attacking array that at least half of the teams in the Premier League would love to have, Shane Long, Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez are all proven scorers at this level, Dusan Tadic gets his fair share and the arrival of Nathan Redmond, will give the new man at least five options for the three attacking positions.
Should Saints decide to cash in then there seems to be no shortage of suitors for the Italian, in England it is rumoured that Ronald Koeman will return to sign him for Everton and Stoke City have also been linked. Koeman of course signed him for both Saints and his former club Feyenoord and has been a big influence, however it seemed their relationship soured in the second half of the season, so it wll be interesting to see whether anything happens there.
In Italy the likes of Juventus and Lazio are being linked and this could, along with his form for the Azzurri, push the asking price up.
A couple of months ago most assumed that Saints would probably rake in around £4-5 million for Pelle, that would be good business, but that price could now rise sharply and figures of £8 million, the price he joined the club for are now being quoted, indeed Saints could make a small profit.
This does seem the most likely option, football is a harsh game, the reality is that Pelle is slightly over what is seen as the peak age for a player, as with his predecessor Lambert, the trick is for the club to buy at a good price and then sell and replace at the right moment.
Many fans moaned about the sale of Lambert, but hindsight now shows us they got the deal spot on, the club realised then that Rickie's contribution in open play was waning and that his real danger was mainly with penalties and free kicks or at set pieces, they took the right action and were proved right, many could not see that at the time, but do now.
So I think that this is perhaps the course Saints will take with Pelle, they will feel that they have had his best, if they cash in now that provides a chunk of transfer money for his successor, that is the way that the club operates these days, some scream that it is selling our best players, the reality is that it is about continuing to move forward year by year and that does mean that we sometimes have to take a step backward to move two forward.
So if it is arrivederci Pelle, then I for one would like to thank him for his contributions over the two years, overall he has been a great buy for the club and a model professional, sadly there are not more like him in the modern day game.