The EFL Championship table since Adam Armstrong left Southampton for Wolves | OneFootball

Southampton's decision to sell Adam Armstrong to Wolves baffled some, but the team have improved following Cyle Larin's arrival.

After a disappointing first half of the season, Southampton were facing up to a crucial January transfer window.

They had improved considerably after Tonda Eckert succeeded Will Still, but it was still clear that they needed to make a few tweaks to the squad if they were to reach the play-offs.

The arrival of Daniel Peretz in goal looks a shrewd bit of business, with the Bayern Munich loanee having already made a huge impact on the team.

Yet, Saints also needed to address the other end of the pitch, and it’s fair to say they took a gamble in that department by selling Adam Armstrong to Wolves.

Cyle Larin has given Southampton an extra attacking edge following Adam Armstrong exit

The 29-year-old has proven himself at this level regularly over the years, scoring goals consistently for Blackburn, and he found the net 24 times as Russell Martin’s Southampton side won promotion in the 2023/24 campaign, which included grabbing the winner in the play-off final.

Even this season, Armstrong was Saints’ top scorer, and among the best in the division, when he sealed a £7m transfer to Wanderers.

So, it’s no surprise there were questions about why the south coast side were willing to lose someone who has guaranteed goals at this level when they are chasing promotion.

Those concerns were heightened when it was announced that Cyle Larin was brought in as Armstrong’s replacement, with the Canadian international joining from Mallorca on loan.

Larin’s CV makes for interesting reading, but he signed for Saints on the back of just three league goals for Mallorca last season, and he had failed to find the net on loan at Feyenoord in the first half of this season.

Southampton have been the best team in the Championship since Adam Armstrong’s exit

Clearly, Larin is a completely different profile of player to Armstrong, and the stats suggest Saints are more suited to playing with the ex-Besiktas man.

This isn’t a criticism of Armstrong, as he is a fine player, and Wolves fans have been very pleased with the impact he has made in his early days in the Black Country.

But, with the way Eckert sets the team up, Southampton benefit more from a physical presence leading the line, whether it’s Larin or Ross Stewart.

They provide the ideal focal point for Leo Scienza, Finn Azaz and Tom Fellows to play off, and it also gives the team the option to go back-to-front quicker, something they couldn’t do when Armstrong was in the XI - and it has paid off.

That’s backed up by the Championship table since Armstrong left, with no team having picked up more points than Southampton since the start of February.

Eckert’s men have won seven and drawn two of the nine games in that period, which has catapulted them into the play-offs with seven games to play.

Of course, they still have a lot of work to do to ensure they finish in the top six, but it has been an exceptional run that has given renewed belief and optimism to all around the club, and they can now look to catch Hull, and potentially Millwall or Ipswich.

Southampton’s success is down to multiple reasons, and, ultimately, it’s because they have a very talented squad.

But, that doesn’t tell the whole story, and their brave January window has been key to their improvement, with Larin bringing a different threat to the team as Armstrong’s replacement.