Ross Stewart is yet to find a new club after failing to agreed extended Southampton terms this summer.
His ongoing search for a fresh club has even seen him be linked with a shock return to St. Mary's, with Tonda Eckert open to the possibility of welcomng the Scotsman back into his ranks.
He did score 11 goals last season, after all, and would routinely pop up with some crucial strikes. Indeed, he would bag the dramatic opener against Arsenal in the FA Cup, which helped the Saints pull off an almighty 2-1 shock.
Therefore, welcoming him back in, as Eckert's men gun for promotion again, would fix their depth issues up top, as the German knows he can be relied on in stressful situations.
There must be some regret on the Saints' end now, though, that they didn't persevere more with academy product Dom Ballard, as his goalscoring heroics in League One last season for Leyton Orient has seem him be tipped for a Championship switch this summer.
Right now, as well, with Stewart gone, he could be utilised as a fantastic second-in-command option to Cyle Larin.
Ballard's unbelievable goalscoring form post-Southampton
If Southampton could turn back time, knowing what their depth concerns would become up top with Stewart no longer around, and Cameron Archer on the move, to keep Ballard around, they would.
Despite being a potent hotshot in the U18 and U21 ranks on the South Coast, with 60 strikes collected in these youth set-ups, the 21-year-old would only be handed a measly four senior games at his boyhood club.
He would score during one of these rare first-team outings, too, but he would be offloaded to Leyton Orient last summer, which is a move the Saints must seriously regret signing off on now.
Indeed, he would enter the O's ranks like a runaway train last campaign, as a phenomenal 23 strikes would be collected from 44 games.
This deadly form has seen him be consistently linked with a move back to the Championship with Bristol City, who are building quite the impressive team, when it comes to the best of the best of the third tier, with Lorent Tolaj already joining, after his own productive 22-goal campaign with Plymouth Argyle.
In an ideal reality, Ballard wouldn't have had to uproot to Ashton Gate to prove himself in the second tier.
Alternatively, in a dream set of circumstances, the 21-year-old would've come into his own in the punishing division with his boyhood Saints, with the regret piled on even thicker when you realise the Orient number 32 didn't actually want to leave the South Coast club behind last summer.
He didn't want to leave the Saints
Ballard is the flavour of the month right now for good reason, with the Guildford-born marksman only needing one season in League One to collect the golden boot honour.
Now, he will be aiming to score goals by the bucket load in the Championship, if a move up a division takes place, but unfortunately, that won't be with the club he called home for 13 years between 2012 and 2025.
He has come out to reveal that he would've stayed at Southampton last season, even if that meant being a "second or third-choice striker" due to his immense "love" for the club.
Despite being up for the task of making it at the second tier outfit, he has maturely acknowledged that the "club was in a transition period, things didn’t work, it is what it is.”
The revelation that he would've been content with being a back-up is the most stinging aspect of his tell-all comments, as right now, he would be viewed as a dream alternative to fall back on, after the Stewart disappointment, with his League One golden boot showing off an attacker who knows where the back of the net is.
Instead of fitting in nicely to Eckert's camp, though, he could haunt the Saints next season leading the line for the Robins, as a major case of unrealised potential leaves the promotion hopefuls with a sickening torment.
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