5 players who followed their manager to new clubs

#4 Ronald Koeman & Graziano Pelle (AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord & Southampton)

Ronald Koeman and Graziano Pelle have been at three clubs together

Ronald Koeman and Graziano Pelle first crossed paths under extremely difficult circumstances at AZ Alkmaar in 2009. The Dutch manager was making his return to management after being sacked by Valencia a year previous while the Italian striker had struggled for game time in his two seasons at AZ.

Koeman immediately took a shining to Pelle and installed him as the first-choice striker for the 2009/10 Eredivisie season. AZ had previously won the league title under Louis Van Gaal and expectations were high at the North Holland side. However, Koeman lost 7 of his first 16 games in charge and was sacked halfway through his debut season.

This brief encounter left a lasting impression on Koeman. Taking over as Feyenoord manager in 2011, the Dutchman pursued Pelle in 2012 and captured the forward on loan for the season. Pelle had moved to Parma in 2011 but failed to make an impression, and in 2013 he signed for Feyenoord on a permanent contract.

Becoming the first Italian to play for the Dutch club, Pelle shone under the guidance of Koeman. During his first season, Pelle netted 27 Eredivisie goals, beating the record for an Italian player scoring in foreign leagues, previously held by Luca Toni and Christian Vieri. He became a cult hero at Feyenoord due to his ever-changing hairstyle and free-scoring ability.

In 2014, Koeman announced he was leaving Feyenoord and quickly arrived at St. Marys as the new manager of Southampton. He immediately went after Pelle again, signing the striker from Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee. Koeman and Pelle both got off to a flying start on the English south coast, picking up the Manager of the Month and Player of the Month awards for September 2014 respectively.

Finishing 7th in their first season at St. Marys, Koeman and Pelle went one better the season after, bringing Southampton to their best ever 6th place Premier League finish. However, in 2016 Koeman left the Saints to take up a position as Everton manager. Pelle also left St. Marys in the summer of 2016, packing his bags for a final payday in China as he signed for Shandong Luneng.

After spending five seasons together at three different clubs, Koeman and Pelle failed to win a single trophy. However, the pair managed to bring significant success to Southampton and break some club records during their time at St. Marys.