Southampton could well still sneak back into the Championship automatic promotion picture after all hopes of the top two looked dead and buried, benefitting from Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Leeds United all slipping up at the final hurdle.
Russell Martin's men nearly didn't beat Watford this weekend however to keep up their end of the bargain, needing a last-gasp Flynn Downes winner to beat Watford 3-2 to breathe life back into their faintest hopes of a top-two finish.
Downes wasn't the only goalscoring midfielder for the Saints at St. Mary's, with one of his two partners in the middle of the park in Will Smallbone netting within the first minute on the South Coast to set the tone for an enthralling contest.
Whilst the West Ham United loanee continues to look like a great bit of business for Martin's side, Southampton haven't always managed to strike gold with their signings, with one dud sticking out as a particularly stinging misfire of years gone by.
When Southampton signed Gaston Ramirez
Southampton must have thought they had hit the jackpot by signing attacking midfield star Gaston Ramirez in 2012, winning the Uruguayan's services for a hefty £12m but a sizeable fee that was justified at the time.
Fresh off a stint at Bologna which saw Ramirez amass 15 goals and eight assists from 60 appearances – with 13 of those coming in his final Serie A campaign – Southampton must have thought the 6-foot creator would set the Premier League alight on his arrival.
The move wouldn't quite work like that in reality, with Ramirez shining bright during his debut campaign on the South Coast before seeing his Saints career eventually fizzle out.
In his first full season, Ramirez translated his excellent form playing in Italy to the tough demands of English football.
Ramirez would manage to bag five goals and pick up three assists in the Premier League, taking to his new surroundings with ease.
1. GK – Kelvin Davis
2. RB – Nathaniel Clyne
3. CB – Jose Fonte
4. CB – Jos Hooiveld
5. LB – Danny Fox
6. CDM – Morgan Schneiderlin
7. RM – Jason Puncheon
8. CAM – Steven Davis (Gaston Ramirez)
9. CAM – James Ward-Prowse
10. LM – Adam Lallana
11. ST – Rickie Lambert
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Yet, although the former Bologna man starred alongside the likes of former Saints heroes James Ward-Prowse and Adam Lallana during this honeymoon period at Southampton, his time at the club would eventually turn sour.
His second season would see him make just 18 appearances, falling down the pecking order under then-Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Ramirez would only help himself to a single goal and three assists when given a rare first-team opportunity that campaign, moved on after this forgettable individual season.
Two loan spells away from St. Mary's would follow, with a stint at Middlesbrough enabling the South American midfielder to enjoy his football again after an unmemorable switch to Hull City passed him by.
What Ramirez did after leaving Southampton
Ramirez would eventually join Boro permanently after amassing eight goals and four assists from just 18 Championship appearances on loan, with the Saints cursing their decision in the end to fork out £12m for the Uruguayan.
Even if his time at Middlesbrough ended up being as short-lived as his spell with Southampton, with Ramirez moving back to the comforts of Serie A in 2017 after just two seasons at the Riverside Stadium, his adoring Boro fanbase will always have this sublime strike against AFC Bournemouth to look back on.
Whereas, Southampton only have regrets about the deal to bring the 6-foot midfielder to England over any slight positives.
If this transfer happened in today's far-inflated market too, courtesy of Totally Football's Transfer Index, the move would become even more of a blunder from a Saints perspective.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
How much Gaston Ramirez's move would be worth in 2024
If the same transfer mishap went through in 2024, according to the Transfer Index, Ramirez would have cost Southampton an eye-watering £36m.
To add further context to that, Southampton's record signing comes in at €26.2m (£22.4m) currently in Tino Livramento. But, if Ramirez's deal was in today's market, the South American would be way out in front as their record buy.
1. Tino Livramento
€26.2m (£22.4m)
2. Danny Ings
€25.1m (£21.5m)
3. Kamaldeen Sulemana
€25m (£21.4m)
4. Jannik Vestergaard
€25m (21.4m)
5. Sadio Mane
€23m (£19.7m)
Staggeringly, the Transfer Index suggests that Ramirez would be worth nearly £20m more than past Saints superstar Sadio Mane demanded to win his services who would go on to dazzle under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Moreover, when assessing the current crop of talent at Martin's disposal, Ramirez would be worth nearly £30m more than Kyle Walker-Peters who boasts a humble €8.6m (£7.3m) worth, as per Football Transfers, despite being touted for a move back up to the Premier League without the Saints.
It's fair to say the 34-year-old, who is now seeing out his career back in his native Uruguay with CA Peñarol, won't look back on this patch of his career at St. Mary's with many fond memories still attached.
Instead, he knows he is viewed as an expensive flop when everything looked to be pointing in the direction of Ramirez being a great buy who could go on to be a star for many years to come.
If Southampton do end up sealing an immediate return to the Premier League, the South Coast outfit will be cautious not to overspend and have another blunder like Ramirez on their hands away from any talk about other incomings.
Market Movers
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