Five teams who lose their best players every year

#3 Southampton

Three players in the picture above have left Southampton and the fourth has handed in a transfer request

It is safe to say that in the recent past Southampton have produced some of the most talented English players, irrespective of how their careers panned out after leaving the club. In addition, the Saints also have a terrific scouting network which has helped them maintain their status in the Premier League despite losing key players every year.

Without a hint of doubt, the most notable player to have come through the Saints Academy is Gareth Bale but the Welsh wizard was a left-back when he left the Saints to join Spurs. However, the incredible turnaround in his fortunes in the last seven years needs no mention.

The Saints earned promotion back to the Premier League in 2012 and have constantly lost some of their major players to the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs. Even before their promotion, Arsenal signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott from Southampton as teenagers.

After promotion, the figure has increased manifold and they have also lost two managers to rival Premier League clubs - Mauricio Pochettino to Spurs and Ronaldo Koeman to Everton.

The notable departures from the Saints in the last five years include Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Sadio Mane and Rickie Lambert all to Liverpool; Morgan Schneiderlin and Luke Shaw to Manchester United; Calum Chambers to Arsenal; Victor Wanyama to Spurs; Jose Fonte to West Ham and Graziano Pelle to Shandong Luneng.

At least one more player is likely to join this long list of departures this season after Virgil van Dijk submitted a transfer request, with Liverpool rumoured be his preferred destination.