Saints Marching
Fansided

Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez strongly linked with West Brom move

By Chris Hughes

NORWICH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Jay Rodriguez of Southampton and Steven Davies inspect the pitch during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Norwich City and Southampton at Carrow Road on January 7, 2017 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
NORWICH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Jay Rodriguez of Southampton and Steven Davies inspect the pitch during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Norwich City and Southampton at Carrow Road on January 7, 2017 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Saints striker Jay Rodriguez could seemingly be on his way out of the club, if reports are to be believed.

Tony Pulis’ side are set to win the race for the English forward, who is free to leave the Saints this summer after a frustrating season under former manager Claude Puel.

The Telegraph is reporting that West Brom are now in formal talks with Southampton in order to finalise a move before the official start of the transfer window, as Pulis looks to bolster his attacking options after slipping out of eighth place to the Saints late last season.

The reported fee is believed to be within the region of £12 million, meaning Southampton would make around £5 million in profit from when they signed him back in 2012.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Jay Rodriguez of Southampton closes down Joel Matip of Liverpool during the EFL Cup Semi-Final Second Leg match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on January 25, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Jay Rodriguez of Southampton closes down Joel Matip of Liverpool during the EFL Cup Semi-Final Second Leg match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on January 25, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

A move to pastures new could be just what the versatile forward needs, having failed to re-find the form he showed in the 2013/14 season, where he scored 15 goals in 33 league appearances.

Rodriguez then spent much of the following 18 months out with a complicated ligament injury, meaning he only played in 12 league games in two seasons.

More from Saints Marching

Having remained injury-free Rodriguez played 34 times this past campaign under Claude Puel’s management, but found the back of the net on just six occasions having struggled to find his feet in the Frenchman’s set-up.

The former Burnley man was regularly deployed as a sole striker coming off the bench, something which didn’t suit his style,  having thrived in an inside forward role under Mauricio Pochettino.

Salomon Rondon was West Brom’s only striker with a notable goal tally last season thanks to a return of eight, something Pulis evidently thinks Rodriguez can help out with.

Despite struggling to find much form the 27-year-old’s talent was obvious as displayed through his great finishes against Leicester, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth.

Home/Transfer Rumors