Graziano Pelle's career in many ways mirror's that of his predecessor Rickie Lambert with Saints new striker now being monitored by Italy.

Of course the two paths are very different in some ways in that Pelle plied his trade between Italy and Holland rather than the lower leagues of England but there are still many comparisons to be drawn between Lambert and the man who replaced him.

Pelle started at Serie A Lecce although barely played and found himself out on loan at a number of lower league Italian clubs however he was not setting the World alight, but finally in 2006/07 he scored 10 goals in 37 games for the club, he returned to Lecce who told him another loan spell would be happening so he opted for a permanent move to Holland and AZ.

In four years there he was used sparingly and netted only 14 times in 78 games spread over four season before being released in 2011.

At 26 he seemed destined for a career in the lower divisions, he joined Parma but they quickly loaned him out to another serie B club, his career in Italy was going nowhere fast.

But in the summer of 2012 as he turned 27 he was about to take the Rickie Lambert fairytale route, Ronald Koeman signed him for Feyenoord, initially on loan and suddenly the goal tally that had been no more than average for most of his career started to increase, 11 goals in his first 10 games made him an instant hit with the Dutch club's fans and the deal was made permanent, by the end of the season he had 29 goals and was the second highest scorer in the Eridivise.

His second season saw a goal less but given he had played several games less, his strike rate was better, clearly Pelle had Koeman to thank for his late development and when the Dutch manager joined Saints the rumour was that the Italian would follow him.

Follow him he did and so like Lambert before him Pelle arrived in the Premier League at a late age and now again like Lambert he has dumbfounded those who have said he is too old and not good enough to play at the highest level.

Like Lambert suddenly at 27 his career took off and hopefully like his illustrious predecessor he will become a cult hero at St Mary's, even though joining us at age 29 he is approaching the twilight of his career, if again like Lambert he can play into his 33rd year in the Premier then he could well give Saints good service and value for the money paid.

But now there could be another fairytale twist, rumour on the Italian footballing grapevine is that Pelle is being monitored and could well be included in the next Italian squad, that being the case the next couple of games for Saints could be crucial for the Striker, play well and hit a few goals and he might just find himself in the squad for the October Internationals and like Lambert it would truly be a rags to riches tale.

Ironically if he does manage that it will be at the expense of a player who is still on Saints books Osvaldo, a year ago he was hoping to go to the World Cup with Italy, unlike Pelle he didnt get his head down and let his football do the talking and now finds himself struggling to make an impact.

So this latest twist for Pelle could be very beneficial for Saints, the incentive of playing for his country might well be another spur for the player and the goals might just keep on coming, if they do and he wins a cap for his country, an even that like Lambert he probably thought at best unlikely at worst impossible, then im sure the first person he will thank is Ronald Koeman.

Photo: Action Images

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