There has been a stark contrast within the Southampton squad so far this season.
Southampton have got off to what has been a pretty difficult start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, with them sitting 19th going into the first international break, with Everton’s appalling goal-difference keeping Russell Martin’s side away from the bottom.
Both on the offensive and defensive side for Martin’s side, questions have been asked over certain player’s performances, with attacker Adam Armstrong notably being highlighted for his physical struggles and difficulty adapting to the Premier League.
Will Smallbone is another who has also endured a difficult start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, as had Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy before Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale joined the club for £25million.
Following the disappointing opening three defeats for the Saints, it has been revealed, per SofaScore, who has performed to the best of their abilities, and who has struggled so far.
Yuki Sugawara and Flynn Downes are Southampton’s highest-rated players
There are certainly no surprises to see Japanese international Yuki Sugawara as the highest-rated performer for Southampton so far this season, with the wing-back scoring the only Premier League goal for Martin’s side at this point of the campaign.
He has been brilliant at providing an attacking threat down the right-flank, and most certainly appears to have adjusted to the Premier League, with his energy levels and effort matching the best in the league.
He has created two big chances for Southampton so far, and also looked to get the ball forward and play progressively, something that has been an outlier in Martin’s side so far.
Flynn Downes has also managed to somewhat continue his solid form in the centre-of-the-park from last season.
His passing accuracy stands at an impressive 91%, however with Martin’s style of play involving a lot of passing and showing patience by playing it round the back, it can be safely assumed that the majority of these balls will have been low on the risk scale.
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Adam Armstrong and Jack Stephens are the lowest-rated Southampton players this season
Armstrong is unsurprisingly rated as the second-worst performer for Southampton so far in the 2024/25 campaign, with the striker yet to find the back of the net.
The opening three games have seen the attacker get just two shots on target, and he has also missed one big chance.
Jack Stephens has also been poor for the Saints so far this campaign, with him notably struggling in the loss to Brentford.
Whilst both Armstrong and Stephens have struggled in the side, they are by no means outliers as the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and Cameron Archer weren’t far off the pair in terms of average rating.
What must Russell Martin do to get the best out of his attackers
Aside from Stephens, it is clear that Martin’s clear issue so far this season has been his attacking front and their ability in front of goal.
Whilst the attack has been somewhat wasteful at times, the blame lies in the tactics deployed by Martin and the lack of urgency shown in getting the ball forward to create an attack.
There is a real cautionary sense to Southampton’s play so far this season, and it is shown by them coming close to topping the possession stats for the Premier League, only losing out to Manchester City, but still at the same time struggling to create chances.
Martin at this moment must use the international break to shake up his tactics, and whilst it is important to prioritise possession, there is little use to it if the ball isn’t being played forward often enough.