Russell Martin will be growing increasingly concerned by the fact Southampton’s first Premier League win of the season remains elusive.
Southampton came agonisingly close to securing a first three points since returning to the top flight against fellow newly-promoted side Ipswich Town on Saturday but were denied by a 95th-minute equaliser.
18-year-old Tyler Dibling had put Southampton ahead after just five minutes as Russell Martin placed his faith in the teenager for a second successive league game.
Worryingly, that was one of just two league goals Southampton have scored this season, with right-back Yukinari Sugawara scoring the other in the 3-1 defeat against Brentford.
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Dave Watson thinks Southampton will regret letting Che Adams leave
Southampton signed Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton Diaz in the summer to provide the firepower to keep the club in the top flight.
As yet, neither player has scored in the Premier League, nor have Adam Armstrong or Ross Stewart who are the other two strikers at the club.
Former Southampton coach Dave Watson believes this could prove the Saints’ downfall this season and thinks the club would have a better chance of staying up had they kept Che Adams who left upon the end of his contract in June.
Watson was speaking on Ben Foster’s Fozcast podcast, where he said: “Che Adams, ex-Birmingham player, he fought really hard to become an established Premier League player.
“They let him go and they replaced him with Archer, missed a penalty last week, missed a couple on chances in this game. He’s not got off the mark in the Premier League.
“It’s hard to replace somebody – and some would argue Che Adams wasn’t quite a Premier League player – but because of his time in there, he knew what was required and he’d get Southampton 10-12 goals. And that might have been enough.”
Adams enjoying life in Italy since leaving Southampton
It was not for lack of trying that Southampton lost Adams this summer, with the club continuing negotiations on a new deal well after the striker became a free agent.
Ultimately, Adams decided to try a new venture with Serie A side Torino in Italy.
The former Sheffield United forward has enjoyed a very strong start to life in Italy, scoring two goals and providing two assists as Torino sit top of Serie A after five matches.
Given Adams has never scored more than nine Premier League goals in a season and has never been prolific, Watson’s claim he could score 10-12 goals in the current Southampton side seems something of a stretch.
However, the 28-year-old’s experience of the top flight could well have proved invaluable to the Southampton attack.