Could Southampton still mount a promotion push in the second half of the season? Fair to say, this campaign has not gone as planned. Manager Will Still was sacked after only 13 league matches in charge, having won only two of them.
Successor Tonda Eckert then won six of his first seven at the helm. Fast forward to today, and the Saints are now winless in six, most recently demolished 4-0 by Middlesbrough on Sunday, conceding four times during an 18 minute spree on Teeside.
All of this leaves Southampton down in 15th, albeit only eight points adrift Watford, the current occupants of the final play-off position.
This weekend, the Saints' FA Cup campaign begins. They'll be seeking to avoid a major upset against Doncaster Rovers, the team second-bottom of League One, at the catchily named Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday. Defeat in Donny would surely crank up the pressure on under-fire Eckert.
Thus, looking to spark their season into life, should Southampton sign a soon-to-be expirence free agent, or is this a risk not worth taking?
Southampton must dodge this Callum Wilson bullet
As was widely reported on Tuesday, West Ham United are in talks with Callum Wilson about the possibility of mutually terminating his contract.
The 33 year old joined the Hammers as a free agent from Newcastle in the summer, scoring four goals for the club, despite starting just eight Premier League games. However, he has very much not been in Nuno Espírito Santo's plans, thereby not even named among the substitutes for the Irons' catastrophic 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
West Ham have also just signed two new strikers; Pablo Felipe has arrived from Gil Vicente for £22 million, while Taty Castellanos has joined from Lazio for £26 million. Thus, Wilson will almost certainly be on the move this month. A whole raft of EFL Championship clubs are purportedly chasing his signature, so should Southampton be one of them?
Well, the Saints have scored just four goals across their last six fixtures, but finding the net had not been an issue beforehand, netting 21 times across the previous seven matches. Also, they boast the EFL Championship's leading scorer, namely Adam Armstrong, who has bagged 11 goals to date, albeit the most recent of these came on 9 December, a double against West Brom.
Looking at Wilson specifically, he reportedly earns around £60,000-per-week, including appearance-based bonuses. According to Capology, only two Saints players, namely the lesser-spotted Joe Aribo and the aforementioned Armstrong earn that much. Also, for comparison, Léo Scienza, arguably the club's best performer this season, picks up £20,000-per-week.
Given Wilson's likely high wage demands, as well as his injury history, sitting out 93 matches since February 2021, he would be a risky signing for anyone. The Saints have other areas of need right now, so recruiting Wilson is not a risk worth taking.