£12m Southampton signing was ‘one of the best around’ - Barcelona, Man Utd dodged transfer bullet | OneFootball

Gaston Ramirez was once admired by some of Europe's biggest clubs

Southampton prevented Manchester United and Barcelona from suffering embarrassment in the transfer market in 2012.

The signing of Gaston Ramirez was hard fought for the Saints following their remarkable promotion to the Premier League.

Nigel Adkins oversaw back-to-back top two finishes, bringing them from League One to the top flight in just two seasons.

The Uruguayan moved to St. Mary’s despite interest from two of the world’s biggest clubs in Man United and Barcelona.

This was a real coup for the Hampshire outfit, who were looking to establish themselves at this level after making a return seven years after their relegation to the Championship in 2005.

Unfortunately for Southampton, the deal proved a colossal waste of time for the club after they agreed a £12 million fee that almost didn’t come to fruition, with the move only concluding on deadline day of that summer window.

Gaston Ramirez’s Southampton struggles

There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the capture of Ramirez from Bologna, with Adkins praising the club for how they conducted their summer business.

"Great credit to everyone because we have a young, exciting talent joining us who is one of the best around," said the now 60-year-old, via the BBC in 2012.

And Ramirez’s start to life at Southampton wasn’t too bad, with the forward earning his debut off the bench in a 6-1 loss at the Emirates to Arsenal.

While that result was obviously disappointing, his first start yielded an assist in a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa, and his first goal arrived just a week later at Goodison Park.

A goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on 25 November 2012 was his standout performance, as the Saints made a bright start to life back at this level under Adkins.

But he contributed just one more goal and assist each under the Englishman before he was replaced by Mauricio Pochettino in January 2013.

Game time proved a bit tougher for Ramirez, who added two more goals to his name from 11 appearances from the remaining 16 games of the Premier League campaign, starting on eight occasions.

The Uruguay international made a total of 22 more appearances across three top flight seasons at St. Mary’s, scoring just one more time.

A bright start flamed out quite quickly, as he struggled to impress the Argentine coach who was now in charge of the team.

The arrival of Ronald Koeman in 2014 didn’t improve matters, and he was even loaned out to Hull City for the Dutchman’s first year in charge.

Gaston Ramirez’s underwhelming Southampton exit

Ramirez joined Hull in the 2014 summer transfer window as a result of how far down the pecking order he had fallen with the arrival of Koeman as manager.

And the playmaker continued to struggle for form, even with the drop down to the Championship, as he managed just 22 appearances for the Tigers, who finished 18th in the table.

He contributed one goal and two assists before returning to Southampton in the summer of 2015.

Three substitute appearances in the first half of the season led to another loan spell in the second tier, this time signing for Middlesbrough.

While his form under Aitor Karanka showed signs of life for his career as he registered seven goals and one assist from 18 appearances, his time at Southampton was over.

Ramirez departed St. Mary’s at the end of the 2015/16 campaign, with the club opting not to renew his contract.

This led to him signing for the Teesside outfit as a free agent, but he lasted just one year at the Riverside before exiting English football altogether.

The now 35-year-old spent several years in Italy before moving back to his native Uruguay.

Man United and Barcelona will be glad that they ultimately weren’t able to sign him ahead of Southampton after only ever showing flashes of impressive form in the last 14 years.