Southampton couldn't resist a dig at rivals Portsmouth after signing Republic of Ireland international Gavin Bazunu.
The Saints have signed the former Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper from Manchester City in a five-year deal believed to be worth €14million.
Bazunu spent the last two seasons on loan away from City at Rochdale and Portsmouth.
Trolling their rivals after announcing the signing, Southampton tweeted a smug emoji to Pompey’s post confirming Bazunu as their player of the season.
Last campaign saw the 20-year-old named Portsmouth's player of the season after he made 46 appearances in all competitions and kept 17 clean sheets.
Despite the dig, Bazunu had nothing but good things to say about his former club.
He said: "I know it’s a massive rivalry between two big clubs. My time at Portsmouth was brilliant, the fan base were brilliant and they gave me a platform to go and perform to play and without being there I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to come here. Now I’m looking forward to playing hopefully in the Premier League and fighting for a place."
On joining Southampton, he added: “I’m delighted to be here. It’s been in the works for a few weeks and I’m really happy that we’ve got everything over the line, and I’m just excited to see what’s ahead.
“I feel like it’s a place I can come and develop and learn my game. The biggest thing is opportunity – the fact that I can come here and have a chance to play regular football. Just to be given that opportunity to fight for my place is the biggest thing that I could’ve asked for.”
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl believes Bazunu has “tremendous potential” and will provide competition for places at St Mary’s.
“As a club, we are always on the lookout for young talent and Gavin is a very exciting addition to the squad,” the Austrian said.
“We believe he has tremendous potential to improve and will give us great competition for places in the goalkeeping department.
“He is already an international goalkeeper, which is very rare for his age. Coming from Manchester City, we know he has learned from some of the very best coaches and teammates, and coming here gives him more opportunities to develop his game through playing in the Premier League.”
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