Southampton are having one of their worst seasons in the Premier League for some years. As it stands they are in 15th place in the league. But they are just two points above the relegation zone.
The Saints are also in very poor form. In their last five league games, they have lost three and drew two. This would suggest that they could well be sucked into a relegation battle this season. One of their biggest problems this season is their lack of goals. They have scored just 20 goals in 21 games.
While not all the blame can be put on their strikers, they are not doing great this season. Shane Long has made 15 appearances in the league this season and not scored a single goal. Manolo Gabbiadini has also not covered himself in glory as he has made 19 league appearances this season and scored just three goals.
The only striker Southampton have who has been somewhat decent in front of goal this season is Charlie Austin. Austin has made 16 league appearances this season with six of those being for 10 minutes or less. And in those games, he has scored six goals. This would suggest Austin is the man to start up front for Southampton then. Unfortunately for them though Austin has suffered a hamstring injury that could keep him out for two months.
So, given that their only decent goal scorer is out for two months, it is clear Southampton need to bring in another forward in January in order to not get sucked into a relegation battle. With this in mind, here are three forwards Southampton could sign this transfer window.
Daniel Sturridge
Sturridge has suffered several setbacks in his career through injuries which have stopped him reaching his true potential. The constant injuries also seem to have moved him out of Jurgen Klopp’s plans as the forward has barely played for Liverpool this season.
This has lead to Sturridge wanting to leave Liverpool this window in order to get regular football to fight for a World Cup spot. Southampton are also one of the teams reportedly interested in signing Sturridge.
Despite not playing regular football for some time now, Sturridge would still be a great signing for Southampton. He has made nine appearances for Liverpool in the league this season and scored two goals and got one assist. While this isn’t a great record, most of those appearances were as a sub. It is also still a better record than Long and Gabbiadini for Southampton who started a lot more games in the league this season than Sturridge.
Sturridge has also managed one goal and two assists in the Champions League for Liverpool this season. That did come over five appearances. But once again they were as subs. In fact, despite making five Champions League appearances, Sturridge’s total game time in the competition is just 83 minutes this season. So, one goal and two assists is a decent record.
Overall, Sturridge is a proven Premier League goalscorer as he has bagged 64 goals and 24 assists in 133 games for Liverpool and he would be a great signing for The Saints.
Fran Sol
Sol is a bit more of a risk than Sturridge as he has never played in the Premier League. However, he is still a good goal scorer for his current club. Sol is 25 years old and is currently playing in the Eredivisie for Willem II.
So far this season Sol has made 16 league appearances for Willem. In those 16 games, he has scored an impressive nine goals and got three assists. He has also played in three cup games this season and bagged four goals in those games. Putting his tally to 13 goals in 19 games this season.
This shows Sol is certainly not shy in front of goal and he could well be the front man Southampton need to replace Austin and fight off relegation. Of course, there is a bit of a skill gap between the Premier League and the Eredivisie. But that is a risk Southampton may have to take in order to find a new goal scorer.
Kevin Lasagna
Lasagna is a 25-year-old Italian striker who plays in the Serie A for Udinese. Lasagna has not played much for Udinese and has spent much of his career at Carpi either as one of their players or on loan from Udinese.
However, this season Lasagna has finally been given a chance to shine for Udinese in the Serie A and he has not disappointed. So far this season he has made 16 league appearances for them and scored an impressive seven goals and earned three assists. He has also scored two and assisted two and two cup games this season.
This shows Lasagna can be a goal scorer in one of Europe’s top five leagues. Granted his goal tally is not as impressive as Sol’s. But as mentioned above the Eredivisie is perhaps not quite as good as leagues such as the Serie A and Premier League. So, maybe Southampton would be better going for Lasagna as he has proved he can score goals in what is probably a better league. He has also scored five goals in his last five games showing he is in tremendous form.
