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.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 10:32 - Nov 21 Maybe not the ideal choice for many, but whilst we are sitting in the drop zone and AOC has a few months left on his contract, a loan deal until the summer would give us the depth in the squad without a huge investment. Our priority now is the finish above 18th place as a number of those clubs around us who started badly are beginning to find some form. Our new young talents will begin to feel the pressure in the run-in next Spring and like Theo, Alex is unlikely to be a 90-minute player every game - but his experience he might help steady the ship - so why not?.

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GRIM added 11:39 - Nov 21 No, no. def no. Not even on loan. He'd be on extortionate wages & is constantly injured so you're unlikely to get many games out of him. We need players that have experienced a dog fight before & he hasn't. Plus he's not a prolific goalscorer which is our priority. He'd be another expensive luxury like Walcott. Alright we're not in a position to sign a top goalscorer but I am sure we could get someone that is better than what we already have .

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DellBoyWally added 14:37 - Nov 21 To quote GRIM: No, no. def no. We have a plethora of wide players who run around in pretty patterns and have no end product. Why do we need an injury-prone addition. We have to use every available penny to get a consistent PL-proven scorer. Doesn't have to be a big name, or big star; just someone who can consistently put the ball in that big net thing - behind the opposition keeper, not ours! We desperately need the player we should have bought when Hoo Flun Dung or Wa Cun Froo Dat was owner. Our new owners are equally responsible for RH's sacking and our current position. NO NEW PROVEN STRIKER - NO PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL

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saintinexile added 14:38 - Nov 21 ffs will you and Saints never learn??
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JoeEgg added 15:40 - Nov 21 "We have a plethora of wide players who run around in pretty patterns and have no end product. "+ Cant think of too many of them by name, but at least we now have a manager who will USE these pretty pattern players to some effect. Then bring in a couple of proven strikers and we will be challenging for Europe!
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landsdownsaint added 15:52 - Nov 21 A fit AOC is one of the very best but not sure we can take a chance on him .
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Mattsgrandad added 16:49 - Nov 21 No, no, no the guy is a crock. A young talent at saints sold too young and ruined at arsenal just like Walcott and Chambers.
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felly1 added 18:10 - Nov 21 No thanks, another busted flush. He's made his money in football. Just another Instagram and Tik Tok bunny like another shot player Lingaard. Im beginning to think you only write these sort of articles to get a reaction. On Walcott... " no one was arguing when he signed a two year deal for us" eh??.. Most fans I recall were baffled by the decision to sign him. It was obvious he was no good.

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Block8 added 09:41 - Nov 22 Not one of your better arguments Nick. In the past you have & rightly so, pointed out that it's not the price of a player that restricts us but their wages. We already have one player getting splinters on £75k per week, why on earth would we need another? Let's spend wisely and pay those sort of wages to someone who can, hopefully, deliver some goals!
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Ifonly added 10:46 - Nov 22 We'd be better off using the money to buy a big lump of a centre forward out of the championship who can hold the ball up and get on the end of crosses. AOC is more of the same. We need something different to change games when we're struggling. Look at Wales last night. They brought on K Moore and it changed the game because now they could escape the press by hitting the front man. Plus he was dangerous from set pieces (which we need more of). It would be great to have a quality striker but that's not going to happen. They're not available and we can't compete for the likes of Gakpo, certainly not now we're sitting in the relegation zone. So if we're going to spend short term money, spend it on something we don't have to at least give us other options.

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Jesus_02 added 16:52 - Nov 22 Wish we had signed him instead of Theo , but he simply isn't what we need. For Jan P1: A striker (not a forward, a striker, the best we can afford). P2: (if we have cash left) A ball winning midfielder we cant rely on JWP and an 18 year old to perform week in week out. AMN is decent in that role but we need 4 for cover. That would allow us to move on Djenepo and Diallo.

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tombaum added 05:32 - Nov 24 After yesterday's game at the World Cup, bring back Yoshi......
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SanMarco added 19:41 - Nov 24 "no one was arguing when he signed his two year permanent deal ". Really?? Let's learn from the Theo fiasco and wish AOC all the best at wherever he goes next.
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