Pundit David Prutton still sees a confident player in Cameron Archer, who can find his scoring form back in the Championship for Southampton.
Feels unreal given the past stressful months, but Southampton's 2024/25 season is just two weeks away from a finish now. And soon, the time when we fans look back at the season awaits us all.
But while preparing the Saints' season reports, don't you think the club faithful will often experience saddening flashbacks? Many what-if thoughts that could've redirected Southampton's season.
And the most prominent of them all, being, if their top scorer this season, Cameron Archer, continued his purple patch throughout the campaign.
Sadly, except for the initial months, it has been a tough season for the 23-year-old. But it wasn't like Archer never tried for a comeback, but it didn't happen at all.
Now, it is natural for the Saints supporters to be upset with the whole Archer saga and give up on him. Yet maybe that's not just practical for the forward, who is tied up to the club till 2028.
And if there's even a bleak hope left with Southampton fans, ex-club hero and now pundit David Prutton has given them a new reason to believe in Archer.
David Prutton backs Archer for the upcoming Championship season
Recently, as quoted by the Football League World, Prutton talked of the forward, saying: “I think the general consensus with Southampton fans is that he hasn’t lived up to expectations, but with the caveat that he is a confidence player, I do feel the right manager could get the best out of Archer.”
Notably, this isn't just another bit of mere optimism by the EFL Pundit for Saints fans.
That's because, though very few remember, Cameron Archer had come quite close to a comeback, with a brilliant striker's finish against Brighton in February. But a marginal offside ruled out all such plans.
Nevertheless, this moment spoke volumes of Cameron Archer's potential. Maybe, he's another Southampton star in the making, who just needs the backing of a right manager?