While the Premier League’s biggest clubs have faltered time and time again already in this young season, Southampton has picked up right where they left off for the majority of last year. On the back of three straight impressive wins, the Saints now surprisingly sit second in the still-nascent table. They are playing magnificent soccer and a recent 4–0 shellacking of Newcastle has contributed to a robust +6 goal differential so far.

The Saints were largely written off before the season after stars Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren, Calum Chambers, and Rickie Lambert were sold over the summer for a combined sum of around $165 million, and on-the-rise manager Mauricio Pochettino left the club to take over at Tottenham. Most observers assumed that the extensive player/staff turnover would leave Southampton in disarray, but some shrewd summer transfer business, as well as the appointment of Dutch legend Ronald Koeman as manager, is doing the trick.

Koeman’s finest work thus far has been using his new players to maintain—and, in some areas, enhance—the team’s trademarks under Pochettino: solidity in the middle of the park and dynamic play in the attacking third. The midfield stability comes primarily from French defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, whose ability to retain possession along with his strong tackling makes him a vital asset in front of the back four, as you can see from his radar from last season (created by StatsBomb.com):

Southampton recognized that Schneiderlin, rather than highly rated center back Dejan Lovren (who was sold to Liverpool for around $33 million), was the most important contributor to Southampton’s excellent defense a season ago. So, when Schneiderlin also was itching for a move to a bigger club this summer, Southampton refused to let him go, even as other more visible stars were given license to leave.

Meanwhile, a series of smart acquisitions combined with promotion from within has fueled an offense that hasn’t particularly missed Lallana’s and Lambert’s combined 22 goals and 16 assists last season. The leading one is Serbian international attacking midfielder Dusan Tadic, who created 46(!!) more chances than anyone else in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, and was brought in for around 40 percent of the price of Lallana. Tadic has been a constant threat and already has delivered two assists, including this stunning backheel to Nathaniel Clyne on the season’s opening day.

Southampton also addressed the loss of Lambert with the addition of Italian striker Graziano Pelle, another Eredivisie star who has quickly taken to life in English soccer, with three goals and two assists in just five matches. The big target man already leads the Premier League in shots inside the box and is fourth among forwards in chances created, so in the near term, his production looks sustainable.

While Tadic provides Pelle (as well as fellow summer signing Shane Long, acquired from Hull for a not-so-thrifty $20 million or so) with service through the middle, attack-minded fullbacks Clyne and Ryan Bertrand provide the necessary width. Each has already assisted on a Pelle goal this season.

Tadic to Bertrand to Pelle for a nice goal.

Incredibly, even with the sale of the promising (and productive) fullback duo of Chambers and Shaw for north of $65 million, Southampton arguably has upgraded their fullback pairing this season without spending a penny in transfer fees themselves. After platooning with Chambers at right back last season, Clyne has been elevated to first-choice status, and has been excellent thus far. And Shaw has been replaced with Chelsea loanee Ryan Bertrand, a former Champions League winner who is almost surely better than Shaw at this point in their respective careers.