Southampton made a strange move to sign Tottenham Hotspur winger Manor Solomon during the January transfer window, according to the player's agent.
It was a largely uneventful window for Saints until deadline day, when top scorer Adam Armstrong departed for Wolverhampton Wanderers and was replaced by the loan addition of Cyle Larin from Real Mallorca.
Prior to that, the only arrival at St Mary's had been Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz on loan from Bayern Munich, although there were plenty of other Southampton exits during the month-long window.
Gavin Bazunu, Damion Downs, Joe Aribo and Juan Larios were among the first-team players to leave on loan, while Ryan Fraser, Ronnie Edwards and Armel Bella-Kotchap left on permanent deals as Saints finally reduced their squad size.
Solomon Rejected Chance to Join Southampton
Following an impressive loan spell with Fulham that brought the Israeli winger to Spurs' attention, it's fair to say that his move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hasn't worked out.
The 26-year-old only has six Tottenham appearances to his name after joining them in 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Solomon had joined La Liga side Villarreal on loan last summer following a fruitful season in the Championship with Leeds United as they gained promotion, but after one goal and four assists in 11 appearances, he was recalled by Spurs in January.
According to his agent, Shlomi Ben Ezra, the forward had the opportunity to join Southampton, but the player wasn't keen to play in England's second tier again despite his fruitful spell there with Leeds.
Instead, Solomon has moved to Florence with Fiorentina alongside former Spurs chief Fabio Paratici, where he is already playing significant minutes for the Serie A relegation battlers.
Southampton Move for Solomon Strange
While you can see the rationale of a move for Solomon given his record and the fact that Southampton are lacking depth in wide areas, the addition of the 26-year-old would have brought its own issues too.
The Israeli wide man often plays from the left-hand side, which would have seen him competing for a spot in the starting XI with Leo Scienza.
Most would agree that the 27-year-old is Southampton's best player and while we've seen that he can't play 90 minutes every game, he will be expected to start most of their matches if fit and available.
Given Solomon's stature and his refusal to play in the second tier, if he had been convinced to drop down to the Championship again, there is no doubt he would have wanted to be a starter.
Even if you considered switching Solomon or Scienza to the right, there is then the strong competition from Tom Fellows, leaving Eckert with selection headaches to deal with.
While there is no doubting the Spurs man's quality, it would have been a strange move.