Ben Brereton Diaz still remains on the bloated Southampton roster heading into the brand-new Championship campaign.
Unlike Damion Downs and Cameron Archer who have impressed in pre-season to turn around their Saints narratives, the Chilean has been very quiet during the runouts handed to him by Tonda Eckert, with many anticipating he will be finally sold on at some point this summer.
Once viewed as an eye-catching signing in July 2024 when picked up for £7m, Brereton Diaz has, unfortunately, always felt like a poor fit at St. Mary's, with the 27-year-old purchased when the South Coast club were in the Premier League.
This has resulted in him never breaking his Saints goal drought and he has also been chucked out on loan constantly.
Now, with Southampton in the market for a new striker to bounce off Cyle Larin effectively, the time feels right to sever this tie once and for all.
Eckert and Co. could be heading down the same path as their Brereton Diaz blunder, however, with this potential striker signing.
The new Southampton striker rumour
It's not a well-kept secret that the South Coast giants want to add another striker to their ranks this summer.
There has even been some fanciful speculation linking them with a move for current Championship golden boot holder Zan Vipotink, but a new, more solid rumour has emerged, away from this guesswork surrounding the Slovenian.
Indeed, it is being reported that a wide selection of second-tier clubs are interested in snapping up AFC Bournemouth striker Daniel Jebbison this off-season, with Southampton one of those interested parties.
With Preston North End also keen, who had him on loan last season, it will be interesting to see who wins the Cherries attacker's permanent services, with Hamburg and Genoa noted as being keen from further afield.
The worry will be that Southampton is setting themselves up for another Brereton Diaz style misfire by signing the hot-and-cold Canadian...
Why this could be another Brereton Diaz mistake
A big plus point about signing Jebbison would be that he already knows the aforementioned Larin, with the 23-year-old a seven-time Canada international.
Unlike Larin, though, who has managed to be consistently red-hot in front of goal, even when suffering from slight dips in form, Jebbison has never quite managed to become a lethal attacker, wherever he's been across his varied career to date.
Last season for Preston, he could only muster up six goals from 40 second tier appearances, with only one goal put away across his last 15 Lilywhites appearances in the Championship.
This is hardly the sort of form that will help Southampton get back into the promotion spaces, with Ross Stewart no longer around.
Brereton Diaz only managed one more goal last campaign, too, out on loan at Derby County.
Both attackers in question are just not reliable finishers, with Saints fans likely underwhelmed when they heard the news filter through that they were considering the hot-and-cold 23-year-old, as it feels like a Brereton Diaz misstep.
He has looked bright in pre-season for the Cherries, with the brand-new Bournemouth boss Marco Rose allegedly taking a shine to him, but when it comes to down winning Championship-calibre strikers, the Saints should be able to set their sights a bit higher.
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