Well, that's the striker pecking order reshuffled again. Divin Mubama's season-long loan from Manchester City, confirmed on the 11th August, hands Tonda Eckert yet another young forward to find minutes for. The man who looks likeliest to lose out is Cameron Archer.
A forward line that keeps getting busier
Count the bodies and Archer's problem jumps out. Cyle Larin is a Saint for keeps now, got the opener in the Carabao Cup win at Colchester, and is pushing to start at Watford.
Incredibly, given his lack of form, Ben Brereton Diaz is still in the picture. Damion Downs, the £7m buy the club has not given up on, wants a proper run too. Add Mubama, a 21-year-old who just banged in five for Stoke across a full loan season, and the queue ahead of Archer just got longer still.
Archer arrived for £15m in August 2024, straight off the back of promotion, with plenty riding on him. Two years later the contract still runs to 2028, but the goals never arrived at the rate Saints hoped, and an injury-hit season did him no favours. Saints Marching has already boiled it down to a stark keep, sell, loan or terminate question, and Mubama's arrival only sharpens the point.
Where does he go from here?
So what now for the England Under-21 forward, capped 11 times with six goals at that level? The interest is there, at least. Wrexham have joined West Brom in the chase, Rangers have had a look, yet nobody has come close to Southampton's asking price. The Baggies floated something near £5m. Saints want a good deal more, and Saints Marching reckons they are right to drive a hard bargain.
The window logic cuts both ways. With two years left on the deal, this is arguably the last clean chance to bank a fee before his value drifts lower. Hold firm and Eckert keeps a proven Championship option who never hides from the work, even if the end product has been thin. Sell cheap and Southampton wave off a £15m man for loose change.
For Archer, the sums are simpler. Four strikers sit ahead of him. Stuck behind Larin, Mubama, Downs and Brereton Diaz, a start at Vicarage Road looks a stretch, never mind a regular shirt. A forward turning 25 this year cannot sit and rot on a reserve bench while the best years of his career tick quietly by, and a move away might suit everyone.
None of this means he is gone by Sunday. But if the Mubama loan sent Archer a message, it is that his way back into this Saints team just got a whole lot more difficult.
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