Southampton: £30k-a-week star 'lacks goal threat' at St Mary's

Southampton are paying the price for not signing a forward this summer, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Saints enjoyed a busy transfer window, but young Frenchman Sekou Mara was their only attacking addition, which looks to have left them short in the forward areas.

Southampton appeared to have turned a corner when they beat Chelsea in late-August, but their results since that 2-1 victory have been concerning.

In fact, the St Mary’s club have lost each of their four Premier League matches since the window slammed shut and have scored just once during that period.

As a result, Southampton have slipped to 17th and are in danger of slipping into the relegation zone in the weeks ahead if results don’t improve.

Their form has also increased the pressure on Ralph Hasenhuttl, who’s hanging onto his job by the skin of his teeth.

But after failing to sign a striker and replace the likes of Shane Long and Armando Broja from last season, Jones reckons their struggles in front of goal have been all too predictable.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s clear they have lacked that goal threat, it’s now just one goal in four games.

“A lot of the pressure was on the shoulders of Che Adams, and it just hasn’t happened for him this season, partly bad luck, but it was probably predictable that he wasn’t going to be able to deliver the number of goals that Southampton needed.”

During the early parts of the campaign, Southampton were enjoying success in front of goal, scoring twice in three of their first five games against Leeds, Leicester and Chelsea, while they also put three past Cambridge in the Carabao Cup.

But since Adam Armstrong’s winner against the Blues, Saints have found the net once in almost seven hours of action through