Saints signed ex academy graduate Theo Walcott from Everton in what has not exactly turned out to be a roaring success, now the club are being linked with going back to Merseyside and bringing in another old boy, this time from Liverpool.
There aren't many Saints fans who consider Theo Walcott to be a resounding success at St Mary's in his second spell, and the usual people are out on social media using phrases such as "stealing a wage" etc.
But it should be remembered that no one was arguing when he signed his two year permanent deal on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, he had spent the previous season out on loan and although he had some injury issues, in the main he had been a good contributor to the season.
But since his move back to St Mary's permanently it has been a different story and he has struggled for form and game time, that is not completely his fault, it could be said that in some respects he has struggled to get in the side due to being behind in the pecking order, the rise of Moi Elyounoussi and others in the wide positions means that his game time has been limited, as well as a change in the style that Saints at times play.
In truth it hasn't been a roaring success as a signing, but it has cost us little, he cost us nothing in transfer outlay and probably around £5 million in wages over his two years, a pittance in Premier League terms.
Now if rumours are to be believed, we are about to repeat the excersise or as some would have it make the same mistake twice.
The latest rumour is that Saints are interested in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Liverpool.
He followed a similar path to Walcott after St Mary's, signed for Arsenal and then up to Merseyside, although he went to the other side of Stanley Park from the Blues at Goodison and joined the Reds at Anfield.
In January he enters the last 6 months of his contract and it is being reported that Liverpool have no intention of offering him a new deal, that means that they might be willing to let him got for nothing in the January window, he has played only 4 times this season for Jurgen Klopp's side, ironically the last appearance being against Saints as a 75th minute sub last week.
Ironically this was also Theo's 4th appearance of the season, although he got slightly longer as he came on in the 58th minute.
So should Saints be interested in Oxlade Chamberlain or should they be giving it a big swerve and avoiding deja vu.
The first reaction of many will be the latter, but although there are many similarities in the two players. it should be noted that at 29, AOC is two years younger than Walcott was when he arrived back at St Mary's aged 31.
Now that doesn't sound much, but they say a player is at his peak at around 28/29, so the potential to get some good performances out of AOC is far greater than it was from Theo.
However he like Walcott has had his injury issues, one stat that amazes me is that in the Premier League AOC has started just 42 games for Liverpool in 5 1/2 seasons, in his spell at Saints he started 27 league games in 1/12 seasons, just 15 games less.
The figure of games started at Arsenal was not much better, just 68 in 6 seasons, amazingly this is AOC's 14th season since making his debut, he has started just 137 games, but 20% of them have been for Saints.
That shows just how injury has impacted his career, this could go two ways, yes he could continue that pattern as he heads towards 30, an age he will attain next August, or the lack of game time over this period could mean that overall his body is in a much better shape than those os a similar age.
Danny Ings would be evidence of this, when he arrived at St Mary;s he had started just 6 Premier League games in 3 seasons for Liverpool, aside from a spell out in his first year, he has barely missed a game in the next two unless rested, playing in 67 of the 76 he could have in the League.
So those who dismiss this transfer out of hand are short sighted, I am not saying it would be a good deal, but it does have potential and like the Walcott & Ings deals, an initial loan spell might suit all parties.
However I think AOC will have other interested clubs after him and unlike the other two, he will not have the same emotional pull that they had for different reasons.
So to summarise, if Alex Oxlade Chamberlain was to arrive at St Mary's on loan in January I think it would be a good short term option for the club to get us out of trouble at the bottom, but as for the longer term I am not so sure.