Southampton's 10 biggest sales of all time

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 21 Dec 2023 15:25 GMT
• 6 min read

Southampton have operated as one of England’s smartest football clubs over the past few decades, with their focus on developing and nurturing young talents rewarding them with impressive profits and a fantastic reputation in the game.

The Saints saw the likes of Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale pass through their academy in the 2000s, while Luke Shaw kept up that tradition when he emerged in the 2010s.

Furthermore, in years gone by, St Mary’s has been an excellent landing spot for young players to join the Premier League before moving onto pastures new after developing at Southampton.

Below, FootballTransfers lists Southampton’s 10 biggest sales of all time.

10. Dejan Lovren - €25.3m (to Liverpool, 2014)

Dejan Lovren was one of the many stars of Mauricio Pochettino’s Southampton team to depart after the 2013-14 season, with the Croatian picked up by Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp’s side raided the Saints in the summer of 2014.

Southampton turned an impressive €15.3m profit on Lovren in just one year, with the defender having only arrived at the club for €10m in 2013.

He endured a mixed time at Liverpool, but made 185 appearances for the club and won both the Champions League and the Premier League on Merseyside.

9. Danny Ings - €29.4m (to Aston Villa, 2021)

Danny Ings arrived at Southampton in 2019 off the back of an injury-hit spell at Liverpool, but he managed to find his feet on the south coast and enjoyed a productive two years at the club.

Ings tallied 46 goals in 100 appearances for the Saints, which convinced Aston Villa to spend €29.4m to sign him in 2021.

However, he lasted just 18 months at Villa Park before they sold him for only €12m to West Ham.

8. Adam Lallana - €31m (to Liverpool, 2014)

Adam Lallana was one of three Southampton players to join Liverpool in 2014, along with the aforementioned Lovren and veteran forward Rickie Lambert.

The tricky midfielder spent six years at Anfield, but made just 117 starts during that time as he suffered several injury set-backs and lost his place in Klopp’s preferred starting XI.

He departed for Brighton in 2020 having won four trophies at Liverpool.

7. James Ward-Prowse - €34.8m (to West Ham, 2023)

James Ward-Prowse left Southampton as a club legend in the 2023 summer transfer window following their relegation to the Championship.

The midfielder was arguably the club’s greatest academy graduate of his generation and he made 410 senior appearances for the Saints - scoring 55 and assisting 54 - before West Ham spent €34.8m to sign him after losing Declan Rice to Arsenal.

6. Morgan Schneiderlin - €35m (to Man Utd, 2015)

Tottenham Hotspur were heavily linked with signing Morgan Schneiderlin in 2014 as they looked to pinch Southampton’s star midfielder after appointing Pochettino as their new manager, but their attempts were thwarted by the Saints.

Instead, Manchester United pounced a year later and signed the Frenchman for €35m, leaving Spurs to buy Vincent Wanyama from Southampton in 2016.

However, Schneiderlin failed to adapt to life at Old Trafford and he was sold to Everton after 18 months as a Man Utd player. In 2020, the player himself admitted that he should’ve joined Spurs rather than the Red Devils.

5. Tino Livramento - €37.2m (to Newcastle, 2023)

Tino Livramento was the first major Southampton star to leave the club following the relegation to the Championship in 2023, despite the fact he played virtually no part in their final Premier League campaign.

The Chelsea academy graduate suffered an ACL injury against Brighton in 2022 which kept him sidelined for over a year, but Newcastle were convinced by his debut Premier League season to splash €37.2m on the right-back.

4. Luke Shaw - €37.5m (to Man Utd, 2014)

Luke Shaw is the third and final Saints player who left in 2014 to appear on this list, with Pochettino helping the young Englishman develop into the most promising full-back in the country during his time at St Mary's.

In the process of joining Man Utd, Shaw became the most expensive teenager in football history, with the Red Devils placing a lot of faith in the youngster.

He has emerged as one of England’s best defenders since his move to Old Trafford.

3. Sadio Mane - €41.2m (to Liverpool, 2016)

Sadio Mane made headlines when he broke the record for the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history during his time at Southampton.

That match-winning performance against Aston Villa was one of many during his two campaigns at St Mary’s, and Liverpool subsequently spent over €40m to sign the Senegal international in 2016.

Mane left Southampton with 25 goals in 75 appearances and reached new heights at Anfield as he became a vital cog in Klopp’s Champions League and Premier League-winning teams.

2. Romeo Lavia - €62m (to Chelsea, 2023)

The latest edition to this top 10 is Romeo Lavia following his €62m move to Chelsea. The Belgian was heavily linked with a transfer to Liverpool, but he decided against becoming the next in a long line of Southampton stars to join the Reds.

Instead, he followed Moises Caicedo in rejecting Liverpool to sign for Chelsea as he became the club’s 10th most expensive signing in history.

Lavia spent just one year at Southampton, with the south coast club turning an impressive profit on the player having signed him for less than €15m from Manchester City in 2022.

1. Virgil van Dijk - €84.7m (to Liverpool, 2018)

Virgil van Dijk still remains Southampton’s record ever departure thanks to his world-record move to Liverpool in 2018. The Dutchman is no longer the most expensive defender in the world, however, following Josko Gvardiol's transfer to Manchester City.

He is the fourth player on this list to leave Southampton for Liverpool, but his move has arguably been the most successful as he helped transform the Reds from nearly-men into European champions.

Van Dijk was appointed Liverpool captain in 2023 following Jordan Henderson’s departure to Saudi Arabia.

The 10 biggest Southampton sales of all time