Southampton’s dream spine come February

Oriol Romeu

Oriol Romeu probably made a move to Chelsea too early in his career, but he went on loan to Valencia and Stuttgart to reinvigorate his career, and has returned to England a much better midfielder.

The 25-year-old played just 33 times for the Blues between 2011 and 2015, and eventually signed for Southampton that year after successful spells in continental Europe.

And his displays for the Saints over the past 18 months are demonstrative of an excellent midfielder who does the dirty work well and provides a platform for the attacking players to do their bit.

The Spaniard, formerly of Barcelona, has started all but one of Southampton’s 22 Premier League games, and is regularly one of their highest-rated performers – he’ll continue to be key for them as the season progresses.