Southampton's last three seasons in the EFL have all ended pretty memorably. The Saints enjoyed back-to-back promotions under Nigel Adkins in 2011 and 2012, before defeating Leeds United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley two seasons ago.
Despite a catastrophic Premier League campaign last time round, finishing bottom with only 12 points to their name, the expectation was that they'd be challenging for promotion again. Well, that certainly has not come to pass thus far.
Manager Will Still was sacked in November, following a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Preston North End. New boss Tonda Eckert won six of his first seven matches in charge, but the Saints are currently without a win in six, most recently being demolished 4-0 by Middlesbrough at the Riverside. This leaves Southampton 15th, eight points adrift of the play-off spots, with a South Coast derby against fierce rivals Portsmouth at Fratton Park to come the weekend after next.
Given how parachute payments are structured, if a club fails to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, it only gets harder every season thereafter. Thus, assuming the Saints are unable to salvage this campaign, could they be at risk of losing their most prized asset?
Could Southampton's star man attract attention?
Fair to say, given their, at best, inconsistent form, very few Southampton players have impressed this season. That, though, certainly is not the case for striker Adam Armstrong.
Adam Armstrong EFL Championship statistics
Stats | Armstrong | Southampton rank | Championship rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Goals | 11 | 1st | 1st |
Assists | 4 | 1st | 15th |
Goals + assists | 15 | 1st | 1st |
Shots | 78 | 1st | 1st |
Goals in the box | 10 | 1st | 1st |
Big chances missed | 12 | 1st | 3rd |
Touches in box | 114 | 1st | 3rd |
Armstrong has not only been the outstanding striker at Southampton, but is the leading marksman in the entire division. Of his 11 goals, ten have been scored in the penalty area.
To reinforce the idea that he is a penalty box poacher, Armstrong's tally of 114 touches in the opposition's box is only bettered by Ephron Mason-Clark (116) and USMNT international Patrick Agyemang (115).
Less good is the fact that he has missed 12 Opta-defined big chances, one fewer than the leaders in that category, namely Tommy Conway and another American, potentially Toronto-bound Josh Sargent.
So, could Armstrong be on the move too, albeit in his case not to Major League Soccer? Well, the 28 year old is developing a bit of a reputation as someone too good for the Championship but not good enough for the Premier League, the new Cameron Jerome perhaps.
He has scored just six times across 88 Premier League appearances for Newcastle and the Saints, but has netted 82 times across his last 177 outings in the second-tier, including play-offs. Thus, if Armstrong is ever going to prove himself at Premier League level, he is running out of time to do so. Thus, should the Saints remain rooted in the EFL, he could push for a move, and his goal-scoring exploits would certainly attract interest, with his contract expiring in 2027.