ON the five-year anniversary of this historic result, here is where the Southampton players are today.
Friday the 25th of October marks five years to the day since Leicester came to the St. Mary’s Stadium and shocked the Saints with a nine-goal thrashing – matching the record for the biggest ever Premier League win.
Both Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez netted hattricks, whilst Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison scored a goal each, with the 10-men of Southampton suffering their biggest ever defeat as an English league side in their history.
With Manchester City this weekend, Saints fans will be hoping that there will not be a repeat of this scoreline on the anniversary, although their winless start to the season indicates that it is not completely off the cards.
With only one player remaining from the 0-9 defeat, it got us thinking, where are the rest of the Saints players who played in this game today?
Angus Gunn – Norwich
After starting the first 10 games of this season, this thrashing turned out to be Gunn’s last appearance for the club, with Alex McCarthy replacing him between the sticks for the remainder of the season.
With two errors leading to goals in the game, it capped off a rather underwhelming three-year spell on the south coast, with the Scotland national team goalkeeper conceding 52 in his 30 games for the club.
The 28-year-old has since become the first-choice keeper at Norwich as they attempt to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2022, although performances would suggest the Canaries would need a new number one if there were to do so.
Maya Yoshida – LA Galaxy
A consistent presence at the back for Southampton during their more successful Premier League period, the Japanese international was a bit-part player during his final season at the club – something evident as he was thrown into the deep end for this game.
Similarly to Gunn, Yoshida remained on the bench following this game – other than a five minute cameo against Norwich – and went on loan to Sampdoria in January on a six-month deal.
After a successful stint, the move was made permanent and he has since played for Schalke and now LA Galaxy at 36-years-old.
Jannick Vestergaard – Leicester
At 6’5, the Great Dane has always struggled with speed – something Vardy punished him for during this game.
He played another 10 times in the league that season, losing half of them, and survived another campaign at the club before moving onto Leicester City.
Still there today, the 32-year-old has featured just twice this season, failing to make the match day squad on the other eight occasions.
Jan Bednarek – Southampton
The only player who still remains at the club, Bednarek missed just four games during that season and has racked up 228 appearances since moving from Lech Poznan seven years ago.
A fairly reliable defender with strong leadership skills, the Polish international’s traits have been put to the test this season after featuring in all eight of their league games so far, although – like those around him – has struggled to find form.
Ryan Bertrand – Retired
The only retired player on this list, Bertrand was not on the pitch for eight of the goals his side conceded due to being sent off in the 12th minute.
The former Chelsea man received a red card from VAR for a high tackle on Perez, but after serving his suspension, became a consistent figure for the Saints over the next few seasons.
A move to Leicester followed in 2021, but injuries hampered his progress and the 35-year-old decided to call it quits on his playing days this summer.
Yan Valery – Sheffield Wednesday
A young player who was breaking into the team at the time, Valery had a tough time up against Harvey Barnes, although he did stop the Englishman from scoring.
Now 25, he had a short stint at Angers in Ligue 1, and now plays for Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship where he has featured nine times this season.
Oriol Romeu – Girona
Somewhat of a club legend at the club, Romeu made 256 appearance for the Saints over seven years before moving onto Girona in 2022.
An impressive first season saw him earn a move to Spanish giants Barcelona – the club where he started his playing career – before moving back on loan to Girona this year.
James Ward-Prowse – Nottingham Forest
Joining Southampton’s academy in 2003 as a nine-year-old, Ward-Prowse had everything to become a Saints legend, but a move to West Ham in 2023 has tarnished the reputation he built over the 20 years.
Just one goal away from breaking David Beckham’s free-kick record, the 29-year-old struggled for game time at the Hammers and has since moved on to Nottingham Forest, although a second yellow against Chelsea a few weeks ago means that record will not be broken this weekend.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – Marseille
Captain of the club during this season, Højbjerg was a stand-out player in a lacklustre Saints side, but that did not go unnoticed as Spurs acquired his services for £15 million the follow campaign.
Now 29 – arguably the prime of his career – he has moved to Marseille on loan for the remainder of the season, captaining them on three occasions.
Danny Ings – West Ham
Subbed off at half-time during this clash for defensive reinforcements, Ings has had a more productive career than most on this list and netted 46 times in 100 games for the club.
A spell at Aston Villa followed and after 13 goals in two seasons – most of which came from the bench – West Ham signed him £15 million in the January of 2023.
Now 32, minutes are hard to come by for Ings in the colours of claret and blue, with the striker regularly tipped with a move away.
Nathan Redmond – Burnley
The final player on this list, Redmond played 232 times for the Saints during his six-year stay, scoring 32 and assisting 27.
In 2022, Redmond left for Turkey in search of a new challenge, but after just one year with Beşiktaş, he moved back to England to join Burnley – where he remains today.
