Why keeping Cameron Archer might have been Southampton’s best option after all
Southampton have depended on Cyle Larin for a lot of their attacking firepower this season.
Indeed, Larin has bagged seven of the Saints' overall 21 goals in the Championship so far, with Finn Azaz coming in at second in the goalscoring charts at St. Mary's with a lesser three strikes.
It would have been a concern, therefore, when the Brampton Bagsman limped off the pitch during the 0-0 stalemate with Bolton Wanderers, as Tonda Eckert isn't blessed with plentiful options who can step up and replace the seven goal hero.
The German had to opt for Lewis Dobbin in the heat of the moment against the Trotters, and it wasn't his best call, as the £9m attacker missed a couple of glorious opportunities to break the deadlock against Steven Schumacher's side.
With Divin Mubama only on one strike for the season, too, the striker spot at St. Mary's is definitely a problem area currently, if Larin isn't fit enough to lead the line against West Ham United this approaching Saturday.
With hindsight firmly on side, the Saints shouldn't have been so rash in discarding Cameron Archer, as he continues to look lively in front of goal in his new Ligue 1 pastures.
Archer's red-hot Auxerre form
Archer would move to Auxerre to link up with ex-Southampton boss Will Still towards the end of the frantic summer transfer window.
He is only on the books of Auxerre on loan, so the door hasn't slammed shut completely on his Saints career, and that will be a relief, as he has been in red-hot form as of late plying his trade in France.
Archer has a superb four goals next to his name for his new loan employers from only five Ligue 1 outings, with this well-taken strike on his debut seeing him evade numerous challenges, before firing home.
A change of environment has clearly done the one-time Aston Villa striker the world of good, as he wasn't anywhere near the first-team picture last season, which would have been a stifling experience for the 24-year-old.
Now, he's starting games consistently at Auxerre, and excelling, with Archer noting that the directness seen in Ligue 1 "suits me perfectly."
Southampton must be watching on, wondering what he could offer back at St Mary's if he hadn't been reunited with Still, as they could really do with a striker of Archer's instinctive nature right now to make Larin's lack of fitness less of an issue.
Keeping Archer might have been the best option
Indeed, while he has never scored goals for fun donning Saints red and white, he has shown enough to be deemed a competent back-up if he were required to be thrown into games.
Last season, from just 996 minutes of Championship action, Archer would help himself to a decent return of four goals and three assists.
One of those goals would come about away at Swansea City, with the 24-year-old only on the pitch for two minutes, before he struck a late winner for Eckert's men on their travels to Wales.
If only Dobbin had been this clinical when he was thrust into the action against Bolton, with Divin Mubama also failing to offer a Archer-like spark in recent games, when coming on.
Looking back, Southampton might have been better placed just to stick with Archer as another striker face, over signing Mubama on loan, and using Dobbin.
Clearly, though, the Walsall-born forward wasn't content with just being a bit-part player at St. Mary's, and he's proven he deserves a leading role, based on his electric start at the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps.
Eckert will just try and get a tune out of what he has, while Archer continues to lead the line at Auxerre, with Larin undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the entire division, when he's fit and on-song.
Past Larin, however, there isn't a lot for Eckert to sink his teeth into up top, with Archer all the way out in France.
