Southampton have had their fair share of clinical strikers over the years, but unfortunately for Russell Martin in the here and now, no potent hero is leading the line for his rock-bottom Saints.
New summer recruit Cameron Archer is top of the goalscoring charts with just two strikes next to his name, while their top scorer from last season, Adam Armstrong, takes a worrying backseat when making the jump up to the Premier League, having only mustered up one league goal so far.
It’s a far cry away from his explosive goalscoring exploits that helped his side win promotion, alongside other memorable attackers from yesteryear who took the Premier League by storm.
Southampton’s best strikers in the last decade
Armstrong is in that conversation despite his underwhelming output of late, with the former Blackburn Rovers striker far more at home in the league below by firing home 24 second-tier goals to seal his team’s return to the top flight.
Unfortunately for Martin and Co, the reliable EFL performer hasn’t ever made a name for himself in the elite division, having only tallied up a meagre five strikes in the Premier League across his career to date.
Still, the St. Mary’s masses will be patient with the number nine, knowing he’s capable of powering home goals like the one above when at the peak of his powers.
Unlike Armstrong, there have been other strikers from Southampton’s recent past who have thrived when playing in the Premier League, with Graziano Pelle helping himself to 23 Premier League goals when on the books of the South Coast club, to be remembered as an entertaining centre-forward.
There’s also the likes of Rickie Lambert who is etched into the Saints hall-of-fame, with 28 of his 117 goals for the Saints coming in the top-flight.
Saints struck gold with 2021 sale
Another name that could also come to mind is Danny Ings, who Southampton fans would have been gutted to see leave in 2021 after a fruitful spell at St. Mary’s.
Still, when you consider Southampton managed to sell the deadly attacker for £25m to Aston Villa, suddenly that sorrow doesn’t feel as sharp.
But, he was always going to be a big presence to replace, having helped himself to 46 goals playing for the South Coast outfit from 100 outings before relocating to Villa Park in a bumper move.
His impressive goalscoring heroics during the 2019/20 campaign would have piqued Villa’s interest, leading to a significant amount of cash eventually being splashed on the “lethal” attacker, as he was described by football pundit Chris Sutton at the time.
Unfortunately for the ex-England international, his time in the West Midlands wouldn’t go so smoothly, with Villa selling him onto West Ham United in January 2022 after finding the net on just 14 occasions from 52 clashes.
Ings’ goal record at Villa + West Ham | ||
|---|---|---|
Season | Games played | Goals scored |
24/25 | 6 | 1 |
23/24 | 30 | 1 |
22/23 (West Ham) | 22 | 3 |
22/23 (Villa) | 21 | 7 |
21/22 | 31 | 7 |
Sourced by Transfermarkt | ||
Looking at the table above, it’s clear that Ings has lost his way since exiting the Saints, with his current club West Ham no doubt looking to move him on when his contract expires next June.
This had led to his transfer value tumbling all the way down to £7m, as per Transfermarkt, which is way off the £25m Southampton once managed to get out of their former star when everything he touched turned to gold on the South Coast.
Therefore, there won’t be too many restless nights now on Southampton’s end about parting ways with the 32-year-old, who continues to struggle after once pocketing his ex-employers a pretty penny.
There will be a restlessness in the air regarding the current crop of strikers at Martin’s disposal consistently firing blanks, however, as the newly promoted side struggles against the drop.
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