According to all the in the know football pundits Jan Bednarek is already in Porto, having his medical and about to put pen to paper on a deal worth around £6.5 million, I would hope that he will be remembered fondly by Southampton fans.
Jan Bednarek looks to be joining Kamaldeen Sulemana & Tall Paul Onuachu in leaving the club this summer and not only putting some money in the pot for transfers but getting another salary off the wage bill.
But unlike the two aforementioned ex Saints, Bednarek can leave for his destination of FC Porto, knowing that he has given Southampton FC good value for money in his 8 years at the club, signing for 5 million euros back then, Saints will make a profit of around 1.5 euros and in the meantime he has started 218 League games plus another 5 off the bench scoring 11 goals, including one on his Premier League debut against Chelsea in April 2018.
Add to that appearances in Cup games and of course the 3 Championship play off games in May 2024 and he has pulled the shirt on 258 times.
These days it is easy to label someone a club legend, although in truth most don't deserve it, but in Bednarek's case perhaps it is warranted, I think if you play over 250 games for a club, that is some achievement in times when players come and go from club's willy nilly.
There are some who will point to his petulance 3 years ago when he pushed to go on loan at Aston Villa, a move that proved disastrous for him, but I think that can be overlooked as he came back and put in a shift in the seasons since.
Having turned 29 back in April and with two years left on his contract, this is a good move for both club and player.
Saints have a plethora of central defenders but we lack leaders, last season Bednarek & Taylor Harwood-Bellis got exposed, the truth were they were too similar in the way they played, they didn't compliment each other, at least one of them needs to go.
If as expected this move proceeds in the next day or so then with the money received for the other two departures, it will see the transfer money brought in around £30 million, that may rise further in the next month, but hopefully we can now start to sign a player or two with confidence.
So good luck to Jan Bednarek for the future and i would hope that most Southampton supporters feel the same.