Cyle Larin's first months on the south coast came with an asterisk. He signed in January carrying fatigue from a brutal schedule. It showed in the way Tonda Eckert had to ration his minutes early on.
A striker reborn at Staplewood
The transformation is stark. Cyle Larin is a different proposition now, and Eckert made that plain at the forum.
"If I compare him coming into the building now to how he came in January, we're talking about a different player," the coach said. Fitness is the whole story there.
Larin had time with family after the World Cup, then turned up at Staplewood in proper shape. Eckert reckons the striker can handle far more than the cameo role he filled last term.
The end product was never in doubt. Saints Marching charted how he became permanent on one condition, and eight goals in nine starts told you exactly why the club moved so fast.
His future is settled now, too. A loan from Mallorca has become a two-year commitment, so the Canadian starts this campaign as a Saints player with a point to prove over a full season.
Backers of the striker have plenty to point to. This is a powerful player who found the net freely on arrival, so he should only get sharper now that he is fitter.
Why a new striker still makes sense
Here's the twist, though. Even a flying Larin won't stop Eckert bringing another number nine in, because one striker is never enough across a Championship grind.
"It doesn't hurt to have an alternative on the bench," the coach said, recalling how often Larin and Ross Stewart used to trade goals off it. Now Stewart's gone to Swansea, that safety net has a hole in it.
The rotation last season told its own tale. Time and again one of the pair came off with the other coming on to finish the job, a luxury Eckert no longer takes for granted.
Damion Downs gives one homegrown answer to the problem. The academy keeps humming as well, and Johannes Spors has confirmed that Southampton are in the market for another striker option.
Eckert made the priority clear regardless of how sharp Larin looks. "You never know what happens throughout the season," he said, the sort of caution that keeps a technical director hunting into deadline day.
So back the Canadian to start the season firing. Just don't be shocked when a fresh face lands to keep him honest.
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