Exactly what was on everyone’s mind. Who is this Benjamin Stambouli ? An unknown quantity replacing the firm fan favourite. Neither a thankless job nor a no-brainer. Stamboulli is a defensive midfielder who was an inseparable part of Montpellier’s surprise title win in the 2012-13 season. Following the likes of Belhanda, Giroud and Cabella, even he has departed to foreign shores. He is probably a rawer version of Morgan Schneiderlin, whom levy tried to procure, but gladly, not at the exorbitant price, Southampton were quoting ‘ for him. This is a perfect levy signing as Benjamin was in the last year of his contract and we did get him very cheap. Reported fee lies less than £5m. Tackling and interceptions are prominent on his skill-set. During the whole of last season, he was behind only Cabella in making passes. So one can make a case for him being similar to Capoue and providing direct competition to him.