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The 2014 summer transfer window was a busy one for Southampton, with Shane Long being just one player to sign for the club.
Arriving from Hull City, the 32-year-old was brought in to strengthen the Saints’ forward line, and that delighted both supporters and Ronald Koeman.
@SouthamptonFC @Shanelong009 Welcome to #saintsfc Shane! Look forward to seeing you in the red and white stripes!
— Ben Stanfield (@BenStanners) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @HullCity @Shanelong009 we'll done Shane welcome can see him linking up well with Pelle #aperfectpartenershop #justwhatweneed
— George Diaper (@GeorgeDiaper1) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @HullCity @Shanelong009 Welcome! Great player! #SaintShane
— Mike (@MikeJulier) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @HullCity @Shanelong009 so so happy i go to alot of Southampton games and Shane is one of my fav Irish players.
— val (@valbaker1) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC Welcome @Shanelong009 The missing piece of the #saintsfc jigsaw. Just another CB to complete the full picture
— Andy Grace (@wurzel62) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @Shanelong009 so much for the club being in "meltdown" great signing !!
— Derek Lowe (@scotsaintsfan) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @Shanelong009 welcome Shane! ! Bang us a hat full of goals in!!!!!
— Leyton Robinson (@Leytonrob) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @HullCity @Shanelong009 Great! Score many goals!
— Patryk Mateusz Kurc (@kurcu01) August 14, 2014
@SouthamptonFC @Shanelong009 and @GPelle19 will at least be the strike force with the neatest hair.
— Ade Reynolds (@adereynolds) August 14, 2014
“Shane is a very good player. As a striker, he’s different to Graziano Pelle, which is something we needed,” Koeman told Southampton’s official club website when speaking about his new signing.
“He brings a lot of experience to our squad because he’s already played at Premier League level for a few years. He knows what we need at this level, and he can show that to our younger players as well.”
Years later, though, and Long has still not really been able to make the impact that was expected.
While he is certainly playing well currently under Ralph Hasenhuttl, his numbers over the last couple of seasons do not make for good reading.
In the last campaign, he only managed to score two goals in the Premier League, while the one prior things were hardly any better either.
The Republic of Ireland international, however, did fare much better in the 2015/16 season where he was able to find the back of the net on 10 occasions in English football’s top flight.
But other than that, Long’s spell at St. Mary’s has been a pretty underwhelming one.
Southampton fans, what were your thoughts when Long initially signed? Join the discussion by commenting below.
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