Southampton have been glued to the bottom of the Premier League table since they were promoted from the EFL Championship last season, mustering just four points from their opening 11 matches with one win on the season, and sitting four points adrift of safety.
As such, this has led to Saints boss Russell Martin being the leading candidate to be axed from his role next, following that of Erik ten Hag with Manchester United.
But while the manager is the person held responsible for the club’s dreadful start to the 2024/25 campaign, some of his players have also failed to meet, and surpass, expectations, and despite only coming over in last summer’s transfer window, the performances of striker Ben Brereton Diaz have been so dismal, that there is an argument to be made that he should exit the club soon too.
Brereton Diaz Has Been a Huge Disappointment for the Saints
The Chilean striker has not yet netted for his new club
Having spent last season with Villarreal, in which he was loaned out to Sheffield United, scoring six times in 14 appearances, Southampton paid the Spanish club £6.5 million for the Chilean striker’s services in what was one of many deals they made to strengthen their squad ahead of the Premier League season.
In fact, Daily Echo reporter George Rees-Julian, via BBC Sport, said back in the summer when the Saints completed the signing that he was the “closest Southampton can get” to a ‘proven’ Premier League striker with their budget.
I think he’s a really good get. We knew they were in the market for a striker when it became clear Che Adams wasn’t going to stay. They were in for Liam Delap, but he went to Ipswich instead, and they were going to pay around £15-20m for him. They’ve managed to get Ben Brereton Diaz instead for half the price of that.
They have got a more experienced player who has played in the Premier League before… Diaz is still only 25. If you look at the profile of player he is, he’s 6ft 1in, he’s decent enough in the air, he can run in behind. He also likes to play out on the left and drifts in to meet some crosses to score goals or just smashes them in or runs through on goal.
However, the 25-year-old has so far been unable to register a single goal contribution in the 457 minutes he has played for the club so far, despite averaging 2.44 shots per 90 minutes, and only finding the target just 9.1 percent of the time.
This is a far cry from his days with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, whereby, in 177 appearances for the Rovers, he netted 47 times, and provided 15 assists, averaging just 2.67 shot attempts per 90. During his time with Blackburn, he also partnered Saints forward Adam Armstrong in attack, where the two forged a strong connection together.
| Ben Brereton Diaz – Statistics Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Southampton | Blackburn Rovers |
| Appearances | 9 | 177 |
| Minutes Played | 457 | 11,437 |
| Goals/Assists | 0/0 | 47/15 |
| Shots Per 90 | 2.44 | 2.67 |
| Shots on Target Per 90 | 0.22 | 1.05 |
| Pass Completion (%) | 78.3 | 74.1 |
Alas, this season, neither have really hit the ground running yet, with Armstrong netting just twice in 10 appearances in all competitions, but Brereton Diaz’s complete drop-off has been the major concern.
While he has been with the club for mere months, ultimately, his tenure there hasn’t worked out, but still only 25-years-old, there is time to re-find his feet, though he may be better served elsewhere.
All statistics via TransferMarkt and FBRef – correct as of 17/11/2024.
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