Tonda Eckert could stumble upon Southampton’s next Armando Broja with this star
Cyle Larin has officially broken his 2026/27 Championship duck with a goal on the opening day for Southampton against Watford.
Scoring eight times last campaign during the regular season, from only ten starts, he will now be deemed the main man up top that the Saints rely on, particularly as Ross Stewart has left the South Coast club behind for Swansea City.
Unfortunately, his coolly taken goal, after Cameron Bragg cleverly found him in space, counted for nothing, as the Hornets won the fiercely contested showdown at Vicarage Road 2-1, due to a flurry of first half strikes.
Still, the Canadian will believe he can be in the golden boot conversation this season, as his goals hopefully fire the Saints to promotion.
Tonda Eckert will need more than just Larin, however, in order for promotion to be won, with the German potentially getting his hands on his very own Armando Broja in the making, with Broja never the star of the show for the Saints when he was present at St. Mary's, but he chipped in with a goal here or there.
Broja's efficient spell at Southampton
Borja might be lining up for Burnley this season, who could be viewed as one of Eckert and Co's promotion adversaries, but he was once well-liked on the South Coast, as a wide-eyed loanee from Chelsea.
The Albanian was lively when he came on during the Clarets' own Championship opener on Sunday, as he won three duels and completed all 100% of his passes against fellow relegated outfit, West Ham United.
He was regularly utilised as an impact presence at St. Mary's, with Broja going on to bag nine goals in total from 38 appearances for the Saints, despite only making 21 Premier League starts.
Ralph Hasenhuttl would make his feelings clear on the 6-foot-3 attacker during his one loan season at the club, with the Austrian noting that the imposing striker was a "very good sub" option to have as he can "immediately" be a threat.
On one instance, he helped the Saints beat West Ham 3-1 in the FA Cup, as he scored a late strike, and won a valiant five duels, all from a 45-minute runout.
Eckert, fast forwarding back to the present, will hope he has his own Broja brewing, as if Larin is tiring, other strikers will have to step up to the mark.
This star could be Eckert's own Broja
Away from Larin, Eckert does have the likes of Leo Scienza, Finn Azaz, and Lewis Dobbin to fall back on to grab the crucial goals, but all of the three forward players mentioned failed to spark into life versus Watford, with Dobbin - in particular - putting in a flat showing on his Championship debut for his new employers.
Divin Mubama didn't fare much better, as he failed to register a single shot at the Watford goal from 20 minutes of action as Larin's replacement, but in time he could end up being a Broja-style figure for Eckert.
Indeed, despite only making 20 second tier starts last season for Stoke City, the Manchester City youngster would bag a promising five goals, which included a hat-trick being put away with ease across a blistering 67 minute spell against Bristol City.
When he was still on the books of West Ham United, as well, he managed to score a Europa Conference League goal against AEK Larnaca from only ten minutes on the London Stadium turf.
He might have fired blanks at Vicarage Road, but very few Southampton shirts would come away from that demoralising 2-1 defeat with their heads held high.
Down the line, Mubama will hope he's spoken about in the same glowing way Broja was name-dropped enthusiastically by Hasenhuttl, as another young and clinical striker possibly pops up with some memorable goals.
