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FEW knew of Mateus Fernandes when he arrived at Saints, but less than 12 months later, the midfielder is a firm fan favourite at St Mary's.
It came as no surprise that Fernandes was voted Daily Echo Player of the Year, scooping the award with 63 per cent of the vote.
In an extremely difficult season, the 20 year old has remained a beacon of positivity and represented the fans well with his hard work and endeavour.
Southampton's supporters are not the only ones impressed by Fernandes' brilliant first season in English football. He has surprised himself, too.
Asked if he has surprised himself, he said: "Yeah, I think so. You can't compare the Portuguese league to the Premier League.
"It's another level. When I did my first training session at the training ground, all the players were quality.
"So I put my targets like I need to do maximum of 20 starts in the games, and I did like 30. So it was much better than I supposed."
Mateus Fernandes smashed his personal aims in his first season at St Mary's.
Mateus Fernandes smashed his personal aims in his first season at St Mary's.
(Image: Stuart Martin) Fernandes has smashed his goal of starting 20 games. Only defenders Kyle Walker-Peters and Taylor Harwood-Bellis have played more than him this season.
Managers are usually met with a negative reaction when they withdraw the Portuguese youth international. Some fans who went to Leicester are still singing his name now.
This is only Fernandes' second full season as a senior player, and the help received from his more experienced teammates has allowed him to thrive.
"Guys like Rambo (Aaron Ramsdale), Ads (Adam Lallana), even Stevo (Jack Stephens), the old guys, they help us young players," he continued.
"Sometimes when I come to the game, I watch the team, and I can see Rambo, and it takes like a little bit of pressure off me.
"I see Stevo, who did like 200 games in the Premier League, Rambo has played in the top leagues, I can play much better without this pressure."
Fernandes suits the moniker of fan favourite because he always takes time to thank the fans, and has taken the city into his heart.
Mateus Fernandes with his Daily Echo Player of the Year award.
Mateus Fernandes with his Daily Echo Player of the Year award. (Image: Southampton FC/Matt Watson)
His family have seen firsthand how much love Saints supporters have for Fernandes, and that support is not lost on him either.
"First of all, thanks. I'm very happy, to be honest, it's a dream for me to play in England as well. It was a tough season for everybody," he said of winning the award.
"I'm a much better player now than I was before. I think my personality outside of the pitch is completely different compared to inside the pitch.
"I don't like to speak too much outside of the pitch. But I have a passion to play football, to run, to try to be competitive with the other team, and of course try to win.
"It means a lot for me (to be voted as the winner). I think when I speak, I speak for the players. We play for the fans, the most important thing in football are the fans.
"In Portugal, if you lose two or three times, they don't go to the stadium. They kill the players."
"They know they are very important for me. And I'm very happy. I need to enjoy this moment because we don't have too much pressure to play."
Echo Player of the Year roll of honour:
73–74 Mick Channon, 74–75 Mel Blyth, 75–76 David Peach, 76–77 Steve Williams, 77–78 Alan Ball, 78–79 Malcolm Waldron, 79–80 Phil Boyer, 80–81 Ivan Golac, 81–82 Kevin Keegan, 82–83 Mark Wright, 83–84 David Armstrong, 84–85 Peter Shilton, 85–86 Peter Shilton, 86–87 Glenn Cockerill, 87–88 Derek Statham, 88–89 Jimmy Case, 89–90 Matthew Le Tissier, 90–91 Alan Shearer, 91–92 Tim Flowers, 92–93 Tim Flowers, 93–94 Matthew Le Tissier, 94–95 Matthew Le Tissier, 95–96 Dave Beasant, 96–97 Egil Østenstad, 97–98 Paul Jones, 98–99 James Beattie, 99–00 Dean Richards, 00–01 Wayne Bridge, 01–02 Chris Marsden, 02–03 James Beattie, 03–04 Antti Niemi, 04–05 Peter Crouch, 05–06 Claus Lundekvam, 06–07 Chris Baird, 07–08 Andrew Davies, 08–09 Kelvin Davis, 09–10 Rickie Lambert, 10–11 José Fonte, 11–12 Rickie Lambert, 12–13 Morgan Schneiderlin, 13–14 Adam Lallana, 14–15 José Fonte, 15-16 Shane Long, 16-17 Oriol Romeu, 17-18 Alex McCarthy, 18-19 Nathan Redmond, 19-20 Danny Ings, 20-21 James Ward-Prowse 21-22, James Ward-Prowse, 22-23 Roméo Lavia, 23-24 Flynn Downes, 24-25 Mateus Fernandes.