Surprise Southampton star ranks near the top for big chances created

Southampton go into their Championship clash with Queens Park Rangers on Saturday hungry for more wins.

Now up to seven victories for the season, after causing chaos all match in a 3-2 victory at West Ham United, the Saints are only three points behind second place in the division in Swansea City, heading into the showdown with the R's.

They could finally gatecrash the automatic promotion party with a win at St. Mary's, with an additional hope that Cyle Larin and Flynn Downes could be fit enough to play against Julien Stephan's visitors, after missing the action-packed affair at the London Stadium through injury.

There won't be any injury concerns regarding this other first-teamer, thankfully, who is surprisingly near the top of the big chances created leaderboard for the entire Championship.

The surprise Saints star near the top of the leaderboard

The current frontrunner for big chances created in the entire Championship is Jarrod Bowen, as per FotMob, with the West Ham superstar on a mammoth 13 at the time of writing.

This isn't a surprise, as the Hammers have been a jaw-dropping watch so far this season in the attacking areas, with Bowen boasting 11 goal contributions from 12 league outings.

Then, it's Alex Cochrane at Birmingham City with nine, and he isn't the only forward-thinking full-back to make the list.

Indeed, up next, it's Ryan Manning for Tonda Eckert's side, with the Irish defender flying under the radar somewhat this campaign, as he has amassed eight big chances created.

Yet, he only has one assist next to his name, which came his way during the emphatic 5-1 win over Millwall, when he teed up the aforementioned Larin for the opener.

He will be looking to collect more assists, if he can keep being such a creative force, as he did bow out from the 2025/26 season with a stellar eight goals and six assists in Championship action.

Manning doesn't quite get his flowers, next to the likes of Finn Azaz, who actually comes up short in the big chances created column, when looking at his numbers next to his fellow compatriot, with six big chances created.

But, he is a crucial first-team presence under Eckert, and he will surely start against the R's on Saturday.

He is a crucial first team player

Manning is one of the most seasoned Championship players in the entire Saints starting XI.

Indeed, he has a colossal 295 second tier appearances under his belt, with 27 goals and 36 assists tallied up.

You would be hard pressed to find a left-back with better attacking numbers, and at 30 years of age, it's clear he isn't accepting his career as being over the hill, with all those big chances being created.

He will be pumped up for the match with QPR at the weekend, too, as Manning used to call Loftus Road home briefly during the earlier stages of his career, before going on to play for Swansea City, and then the Saints.

Alongside boasting a wealth of experience, and being so creative, he is a unique member of the camp who has tasted promotion before up to the Premier League, meaning he knows what it takes to seal a passage up to the big time, after the gruelling 46-game marathon is complete.

The ageing defender might not be the flashiest player at first glance, but it's clear he is well-rounded, in terms of big chances being created, but also digging deep for the cause.

Indeed, he would register four clearances during the 3-2 win at West Ham, with Daniel Peretz facing plenty of shots on his net.

He was once even noted as being "the best in the league" in his position by ex-St Mary's boss Russell Martin, and a couple of years on from Martin being in the dug-out, Manning is still continuing to shine as an underrated, but invaluable, part of Eckert's team.

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