£60k-a-week Southampton star tipped to 'fly' - Will Still 'has to utilise him' | OneFootball

FLW’s Southampton pundit has issued his thoughts on Adam Armstrong’s slow start to the 2025-26 season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton have had a slow start to the new 2025-26 Championship season under Will Still.

The Saints were expected to be a force back in the Championship after their relegation from the Premier League, but have only picked up six points from their opening five league games.

They are winless since their last-gasp opening-day victory over Wrexham, drawing to Ipswich Town, Watford and Portsmouth as well as tasting defeat at home to high-flying Stoke City.

It may take an extended period of time for the senior first-team figures to adjust to the methods that Still is looking to implement, particularly when 10 new players arrived on the South Coast this summer.

Some players who weren’t deemed good enough to represent the Saints over the course of their last Premier League campaign have also returned to the first-team fold, including forward Adam Armstrong, who spent the second half of last season on loan at West Brom and has a reputation of being a second-tier marksman.

But so far it hasn’t turned out that way. Armstrong scored just three times in the blue and white stripes and is yet to net back at St Mary’s, along with being reduced to cameo appearances off the bench against Watford and Pompey.

With Armstrong’s struggles continuing despite a change of environment, this has raised questions over whether he has already hit his peak and won’t be able to deliver the goods consistently to help bring about another promotion push.

With this in mind, FLW’s Southampton fan pundit has commented on what Armstrong’s role looks like for the Saints this season and whether he can deliver enough goals.

Will Still advised to utilise Adam Armstrong more than he is currently doing

Speaking to Football League World, Southampton fan pundit Martin Sanders has advised Will Still to use Adam Armstrong more than he is currently doing, believing the change in system can get the best out of his game.

Martin said: “Once Adam Armstrong begins to score goals and find confidence, I think he’ll fly.

“I think the system is set up better in terms of playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation. That’s what Will (Still) went with on the weekend. We looked more comfortable with it, and it gives Armstrong a far better opportunity to score goals.

“He has to utilise him as he will score goals and I don’t see who else scores goals, but there is huge competition within that front three or four players.

“I think it’s key that he tries to get the best out of Armstrong. He looked lively over the weekend and looked like the only one who was going to score, so I’d be doing everything I can now to accommodate Arma.”

Adam Armstrong can get back on the goalscoring trail for Southampton

Adam Armstrong, who is estimated to earn a base salary of £60k-a-week at St Mary's, has proven over the years for both Blackburn Rovers and Southampton that he can score bundles of goals and be a reliable option when leading the line.

His most notable tallies came in 2020/21 when he netted 28 times from 40 appearances at Ewood Park, while 21 goals from 46 games were registered for the Saints the following term - a big factor for their promotion back to the Premier League.

It hasn’t quite clicked since though, as the 28-year-old was deemed not good enough to help out over the whole of their top-flight campaign, while the goals didn’t flow at The Hawthorns as he struggled to raise his levels.

It could be argued that he didn’t get enough service from his fellow attackers at Albion to get into enough positions to score goals, while regular early substitutions and a collective team slump under Tony Mowbray didn’t exactly help to add to his tally.

Meanwhile, back at Southampton, he has been given early opportunities from the start to lay down a marker, but he hasn’t been afforded a lengthy period of time to do so, with so much competition in the forward department ready to snap up his place.

But there is no doubt he’s their best goalscorer out of all the available options, and he should be considered for a recall to the starting XI after having an impact off the bench against Portsmouth.

It’s all about getting off the mark, and from then on, Armstrong could well be reminding the rest of the second-tier about why he is so dangerous at this level.