Southampton forward aiming to return to his best form in the Premier League

On the final day of the summer transfer window, Southampton completed the loan signing of 28-year-old winger Maxwel Cornet from Premier League side West Ham. Their decision to sign Cornet stems from their struggles to score more goals in the Premier League as well as to have more quality and squad depth in their attack. In the first five league matches, centre forwards Ben Brereton Diaz and Adam Armstrong have been underwhelming in their performance and young striker Cameron Archer's finishing inside the box hasn't been great despite his good build up play and positioning as a centre forward.

Currently, the Saints have young talent Tyler Dibling as the only consistent performer, who built on his recent impressive displays with his first Southampton goal in the 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town. Thus, a few lineup changes in the attack are expected with the likes of Ross Stewart, Ryan Fraser and Sam Amo-Ameyaw highly likely to feature in the upcoming away fixture against Bournemouth. Alongside them, new signing Maxwel Cornet is another option with manager Russell Martin, who can decide to play the jet-heeled winger on the left wing to create more space and good chances for the Saints inside the final third.

Southampton forward aiming to return to his best form in the Premier League

Cornet made his Southampton debut in a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United and looked decent with his blistering pace and build up play with Mateus Fernandes and Cameron Archer on the left side of the attack. The former Burnley forward hasn't played much in the last two years but in the 2021/22 season at Burnley, he established himself as one of the best wingers in the Premier League with nine goal contributions. Therefore, Cornet has great quality but he needs more playing time to return to his best form in the Premier League.

Recently, Cornet talked about his ambition at Southampton and also highlighted his debut Premier League season at Burnley, saying,

"I'm in the same feeling when I first arrived in the Premier League at Burnley. I remember the match at the St. Mary's Stadium. I scored one with the head and the other with the foot. I will try to do it now for Southampton."

- Maxwel Cornet

Cornet also opened up on his brace in a 2-2 draw with Southampton three years ago, and his working on his fitness and form to become a key player for Southampton. Now it remains to be seen whether manager Russell Martin gives Cornet his first start for Southampton in the upcoming Bournemouth fixture.