Saints made their first and if you believe Ronald Koeman, only signing of this January transfer window with the aquisition of Charlie Austin, but will this have a knock on effect.
Saints supporters were generally very pleased with the news that Charlie Austin had joined the club from Queens Park Rangers for a fee of around £4million, but the big question is whether this will trigger departures from the club going forward.
Charlie Austin s a great signing. £4.5 million for a striker who scored 18 Premier League goals last season is good business, the strangest thing about the summer was that no one came in for Austin, players who have his sort of scoring record in the top flight usually attract big bids, but there appeared to be none for Austin with the rumour being that a dodgy knee would make him uninsurable making a big transfer fee a very big gamble.
So the price had to be right for Charlie and it seems that Saints feel that they have got their man at the right price and if he can reproduce his form at QPR for Saints then it has to be a big boost as Saints strive to push up the table.
But his signing does leave Saints top heavy with strikers and it could mean that at least one of our current attack force could be heading out of the door, if not now in the summer.
It would be easy to suggest that it will be Sadio Mane, but Austin is a totally different type of player to Mane and not a direct like for like replacement.
It is more likely to be Graziano Pelle who will leave for a swansong in his native Italy, he has never really made his mark in his home country and he has always expressed a desire to end his career in Serie A, he will be 31 in the summer and will only have a year left on his contract, meaning that his value will be dropping.
I have always been at pains to stress the strategy that the club have adopted, one that means developing players and moving them on, some supporters struggle to come to terms with that concept, especially when things aren't going well on the pitch, but it is the only way Saints wilbe able to compete with the so called bigger club's and Spurs.
So the arrival of Charlie Austin could mean that Pelle will depart in the summer, it looks to be exactly on the lines of Saints strategy and a repeat of the situation when Pelle joined the club and Rickie Lambert was sold before his value dropped and Pelel brought in.
I am a big fan of Pelle but I can see that every player has his worth and with any player if you simply allow them to play well beyond their sell by date, it will cost you dearly both on the pitch and financially.
Saints will struggle to recoup their money on Pelle if he was three years younger he would be worth £15 million after his exploits last season and his great form this, however his age means that he will not fetch anything like that, this summer we might get £4 million for him after that his value would drop considerably even if he signed a new contract.
That being the case it would be a good piece of business to sell Pelle for £4 million and only have to spend that amount for his replacement who is now already at the club, trading a 31 year old striker who is a 15 goal a year man for a player who is four years younger who scored 18 in the Premier last season.
The Ugly Inside always tries to be ahead of the game and Nick & Clive gave their views on this potential deal on Friday before it had happened.