Southampton's 2-1 win against Coventry City this mid-week would have been a relieving one to get over the line, with Russell Martin's Saints faltering as of late.
Poor form has seen the stuttering Championship side slip out of the automatic promotion hunt entirely, the topsy-turvy Saints – who have only managed one win in their last four second-tier matches – now way off the three-horse race of Ipswich Town, Leeds United and Leicester City right at the top of the table.
Che Adams' heroics in the narrow win over the Sky Blues would have pleased Southampton supporters inside St. Mary's regardless however, the 27-year-old striker justifying his inclusion back in Martin's XI with a goal in the victory.
Despite now being onto 14 goals for the season in all competitions off the back of this strike, one Southampton flop from yesteryear raked in a significantly higher wage than the Scotland international currently earns across two forgettable seasons on the South Coast.
Wesley Hoedt's time at Southampton
Wesley Hoedt is a name that might not instantly ring a bell with Southampton fans when casually brought into conversation now, with the expensive Dutchman an afterthought compared to the crop of talent now at Martin's disposal.
Costing the Saints a whopping £15m to get him in through the door in 2017 from Lazio, Hoedt would struggle to ever really justify that excessive price tag with lacklustre performances becoming the norm from the 6 foot 2 centre-back.
Hoedt would accumulate 45 appearances in total for Southampton across two up-and-down campaigns, with his final season seeing him play just 13 Premier League matches before being offloaded out on loan.
A whole host of loan spells would follow, with Hoedt returning to Lazio for a short stint whilst also playing for both Celta Vigo and Royal Antwerp FC.
Hoedt would finally be off the Saints books for good in 2021, moving to Anderlecht permanently to end his Saints nightmare that started promisingly.
Southampton 0-2 Watford, 9th of September 2017
1. GK – Fraser Forster
2. RB – Cedric Soares
3. CB – Jack Stephens
4. CB – Wesley Hoedt
5. LB – Ryan Bertrand
6. CM – Steven Davis
7. CM – Oriel Romeu
8. RW – Sofiane Boufal
9. CAM – James Ward-Prowse
10. LW – Nathan Redmond
11. ST – Manolo Gabbiadini
The Dutch dud isn't the notable flop from this Southampton squad however, with Sofiane Boufal – who started alongside Hoedt on his debut – also costing the Saints dear at £16m with his wage also burning a hole in the then Premier League club's pocket at a ridiculous £65k per week.
To further contextualise, the group assembled by Martin in the here and now have their highest earner come in at just £5k more in Joe Aribo.
Hoedt was pocketing a healthy salary too despite finding himself on the fringes at St. Mary's during his final campaign in England, earning two times that of Adams currently even as the former Birmingham City man attempts to fire Southampton to an immediate return to the Premier League.
Wesley Hoedt's wage at Southampton
The towering defender would pick up a handsome pay packet of £60k per week during this time with the South Coast club, with his wage alone costing the club an astronomical £6.2m over two unmemorable years.
This was, however, during Southampton's hay-day in the top-flight with the 2017/18 season seeing the Saints still have Virgil Van Dijk on the books until December before his mega £75m move to Liverpool was completed.
1. Virgil Van Dijk
£180k per week
2. Fraser Forster
£90k per week
3. Manolo Gabbiadini
£80k per week
4. Charlie Austin
£70k per week
5. Sofiane Boufal
£65k per week
Hoedt would just miss out on being in the top five earners at the club that season, but his £60k per week wage did some damage regardless when you look at how little he offered the club in his second campaign.
The 6 foot 2 defender has rebuilt his career in the EFL after exiting Southampton however, now wearing the captain's armband for Watford after starring at Vicarage Road since his arrival all whilst pocketing a more reasonable £20k per week.
Yet, the Saints will still be haunted by how much cash was splashed on Hoedt to get him to initially join – with the £15m fee forked out looking like a colossal waste of money – alongside his aforementioned salary.
Adams isn't the only top performer for the Saints now who earns less than what Hoedt did, further exposing the costly error of giving the now 30-year-old such a high wage in the first place.
Wesley Hoedt's salary compared to current Saints squad
If the current Watford defender returned to Southampton today, he would come in as the second-tier club's joint third-highest earner alongside seasoned centre-back Jan Bednarek.
Remarkably, Hoedt would end up pocketing £5k more than Southampton's top goalscorer Adam Armstrong scanning over the wage bill at St Mary's for this season on top of earning £35k more than Will Smallbone who has amassed 37 Championship appearances so far this campaign.
Adams will feel the most aggrieved considering his increased importance to the Saints promotion cause over the last few games, firing in four goals in his last seven league games including this strike against Ipswich Town.
Southampton will hope they don't make another transfer howler if they let Adams leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, fearful that this decision could come back to significantly bite them down the line.
The Saints must enjoy Adams whilst they still can therefore if he isn't willing to extend his stay on the South Coast, whilst Hoedt will continue wanting to perform for Watford between now and the conclusion of the campaign.
He will definitely be pumped up for a trip to St Mary's coming up in the calendar soon in mid-April, Hoedt returning to Southampton to try and deny Martin's men what could be a much-needed win.
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