Injury-free Rodriguez ready for regular Saints starting role

When it was announced that Charlie Austin would be sidelined for at least three months with a shoulder injury, Southampton fans had every reason to be fearful for their season. The former QPR man is the club’s top scorer in the league with six goals to his name, so when the initial fears were confirmed, supporters were understandably concerned. Following his summer arrival, Austin had established himself as first choice frontman under Claude Puel, so to be without the 27-year-old for such a lengthy period of time would surely hinder their chances of achieving their seasonal goal. 

Fortunately for Puel and Saints, though, Jay Rodriguez was back among the goals at the weekend. The once-capped England international is at long last available for selection following an unfortunate run of injuries that started in April 2014 when he was stretchered off at Manchester City after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament that would keep him out of action for 11 months. Having missed the entire 2014/15 season through injury, Rodriguez made a handful of appearances the following campaign, but ultimately struggled to overcome a series of injuries that saw him fail to gain a real head of steam in a bid to consolidate a regular first team spot. 

Now, though, the striker has a very real chance of nailing down a starting position for the south coast side. In Sunday’s 3-1 win at Bournemouth, Rodriguez scored what proved to be the winning goal before firing in his second and Saints’ third with a sumptuous turn and volley that left Artur Boruc clutching at thin air. A WhoScored rating of 8.60 was enough to gain the man of the match award as he played a significant role in Saints earning just their second away league win of the season. 

With the games now coming thick and fast for Premier League teams, it remains to be seen how physically prepared Rodriguez is to handle the increase in action, but his goalscoring performance in ‘El Clasicoast’ certainly bodes well for Puel and Saints. From his three starts, Rodriguez has gained a respectable WhoScored rating of 7.34, which is the third best of all Saints players to register more than one Premier League start this season. Importantly, though, his attacking threat differs from that of Austin. 

While Austin will largely remain central and look to have chances created for him, noted in that his 2.6 shots in the penalty area per 90 is more than any other Saints player, Rodriguez is happy to pull wide in order to help pressurise opposition defences. Puel has recently looked to deploy a 4-3-3 formation and move away from a preferred 4-3-1-2 system, which he favoured during his time as Nice boss last season. This allows for Nathan Redmond and club-record signing Sofiane Boufal to provide width and makes for a fluid attack to help unsettle opposition defences. 

With Rodriguez capable of pulling to the flanks to hold up possession, this opens up space to be exploited by those behind him with Redmond and Boufal both able to make darting runs towards the centre in order to fill the void that the former vacates. Not only that, though, but Rodriguez is a solid performer when Saints opt for a direct approach, with the former Burnley man winning 4.5 aerial duels per 90 in the Premier League this season. An ability to overcome defenders in the air and pull them out of position are both crucial traits for a player operating as the lone frontman, and it’s evidently a role he’s carrying out where required. 

He’s not adverse to testing the opposition goalkeeper either, with 3.9 shots per 90 highlighting a willingness to go for goal where possible. Indeed, 1.4 shots from outside the penalty area per 90, the joint-highest return of all Saints regulars, emphasises how Rodriguez is prepared to drop off to help create chances for himself where Austin rarely does, finding pockets of space to maximise his shooting ability, which, if Sunday’s showing is anything to go by, remains a strong trait to his game. 

In the absence of Austin and Shane Long’s poor form, Rodriguez has a better chance than ever to consolidate a starting spot ahead of the second half of the season. A goal every 106.7 Premier League minutes is the fourth best of those to make more than five appearances this season as Rodriguez returns to his peak, which should encourage the fans, and after a brace at the weekend, you wouldn't bet against him adding to that against Spurs next week. If Sunday’s showing against Bournemouth is anything to go by the striker looks to be approaching similar form shown prior to his serious knee injury sustained in 2014 when a place in England's World Cup squad looked a real possibility.