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Mane, Lallana & Clyne shine for Liverpool as Lovren battles back

As many as four former Southampton players could line up for Liverpool in Saturday's meeting at St Mary's.

The summer of 2014 saw then-Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers pay big transfer fees to bring four additions to Liverpool from the south coast outfit -- Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne -- before Jurgen Klopp added Sadio Mane to his ranks this June.

ESPN FC takes a look at the players who have joined from Southampton in recent years and how they have fared.

Sadio Mane
Joined: June 28, 2016
Fee: £30m
Verdict: Hit

Eyebrows may have been raised when Liverpool decided to pay such a hefty fee for Mane, but his performances for Klopp this season have more than justified his price tag. The long-term target has brought much-needed pace and directness to Liverpool.

His form, aided by his compatibility with Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in the front three, has played a major role in Liverpool topping the Premier League.

A lack of consistency was a criticism of his while at the Saints, but Mane has been one of Liverpool's standout performers this season, and it looked promising right from the very start when he scored a brilliant solo goal on his competitive debut for his new club away at Arsenal.

The Senegal international has only missed one game in the league for this Reds this season and his absence was striking. In the 2-0 defeat at Burnley on the second weekend of the Premier League campaign, Liverpool lacked the injection of quality that Mane could bring and struggled to break down Sean Dyche's side.

Nathaniel Clyne
Joined: July 1, 2014
Fee: £12.5m
Verdict: Hit

Unlike some of his Southampton teammates who followed him to Anfield, Clyne has been a solid addition for Liverpool since day one.

Clyne has made the right-back position his own at Liverpool and has proved himself to be one of best in the Premier League. Young full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold recently spoke about Clyne being the perfect mentor to study from.

The 25-year-old has played every single minute of Liverpool's Premier League campaign this season.

Dejan Lovren
Joined: July 27, 2014
Fee: £20m
Verdict: Hit

The centre-back was the player recruited from St Mary's who struggled the most to adapt to life on Merseyside. Lovren looked a fraction of the commanding defender that Liverpool decided to pay £20m for during the first season of his career at Anfield.

However, a change in manager at Liverpool brought out a change in Lovren, and his performances on the pitch proved it. Since Klopp took over last October, the Croatian has been first-choice central defender and gone on to firmly establish himself in the spine of the team.

On his rebirth under Klopp, Lovren recently said: "I always believed in myself even when other people stopped believing."

Adam Lallana
Joined: June 30, 2014
Fee: £25m
Verdict: Hit

The midfielder struggled to adapt and deal with the expectations following his move to Liverpool.

Lallana is pleasing on the eye and blessed with wonderful technical ability. However, he even admitted himself he needed to bring goals and assists to his game.

Since Klopp became manager, Lallana has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes. Klopp has moved Lallana back into a deeper midfield role, in order to accommodate more potent forwards and get the best out of Lallana's ability to press.

It's a move that has paid dividends with Lallana thriving in his new position. He is on course to have his best goal-scoring return as a Liverpool player this season.

Rickie Lambert
Joined: June 2, 2014
Fee: £4.5m
Verdict: Miss

The boyhood Liverpool supporter was the first player to kickstart the busy 2014 summer between the two clubs. It was a fairlytale transfer for Lambert, who had rejoined the club who released him as a 15-year-old.

The ageing striker, then 32, was meant to play second fiddle to Daniel Sturridge but the latter's injury woes that season meant Lambert and Mario Balotelli led Liverpool's frontline for the opening stretch of the 2014-15 season.

Lambert made 36 appearances for the Reds in total, only finding the back of the net three times. He failed to fulfil his childhood dream of scoring at Anfield before he joined West Bromwich Albion in July 2015. Currently plays for Cardiff City in the Championship.