Disappointing Southampton signing could live up to £10m price tag next month: View | OneFootball

It is set to be an exciting end to the season for Southampton in the Championship.

The Saints emerged as serious automatic promotion contenders after a remarkable 25-game unbeaten run between September and February, but a recent decline in form looked to have ended their top two hopes.

However, with Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Leeds United all faltering, Southampton are back in the race, and they secured their third consecutive victory with an emphatic 3-0 win over Preston North End at St Mary's on Tuesday night.

A double from Che Adams and a strike from Stuart Armstrong gave the Saints a three-goal lead after 33 minutes, and while they continued to dominate, that proved to be the end of the scoring.

Russell Martin's men currently sit fourth in the table, four points behind second-placed Leicester and five points behind leaders Ipswich, but they have games in hand on some of the teams above them, and they face both Leicester and Leeds before the end of the season.

It has been an excellent season for Southampton in their first year back in the Championship, but one element of disappointment for supporters will be the lack of game time for big money summer signing Ross Stewart.

Stewart made the move from Sunderland on deadline day for a fee of £10 million, and the deal was seen as a big coup for the Saints, but he has been plagued by injury during his time at St Mary's so far.

However, Stewart could be set to return in time for the play-offs, and he could yet have a big say in Southampton's season.

Ross Stewart could repay big Southampton investment in the play-offs

After Stewart scored an impressive 11 goals and provided three assists in just 15 appearances for Sunderland during an injury-disrupted campaign last season, there was hope that he could be the man to fire Southampton to promotion.

Stewart was recovering from a serious Achilles injury when he arrived at St Mary's, meaning he was unable to make his debut for the Saints until November, but after making just two substitute appearances, he sustained a hamstring injury which has kept him sidelined ever since.

The Scotsman will play no part for Southampton during the regular season, but Martin revealed that he could return for the play-offs.

"He's only got one way to manage himself really which is being desperate to play and desperate to train," Martin told the Daily Echo.

"He has a fantastic mentality. If the season extends, which looks likely, then hopefully he'll be an option for us at some point.

"This will be a big boost for him and a big boost for us I think."

There may be some concerns that Stewart would not be fully fit if he does feature in the play-offs, but he has proven previously that he does not need long to get back up to speed, netting six goals in eight games for Sunderland last season after returning from over three months out with injury.

Stewart has enjoyed success in the play-offs before, helping Sunderland to promotion from League One in 2022, and he scored the second goal for the Black Cats in the final against Wycombe Wanderers.

That experience could be crucial for Martin's men, and having his goal threat in the team would undoubtedly enhance their promotion prospects.

Should Stewart be unavailable, the Saints can call upon Adams, who has scored 17 goals this season, and Adam Armstrong, who has 20 goals for the campaign, so Martin will have no shortage of attacking options at his disposal.

But the towering forward's return would be a big bonus for Southampton, and after an incredibly frustrating season, he will be determined to repay the club's significant investment in him.

Should Stewart score the goal that secures the Saints' promotion, it could be argued that he would already have been worth every penny of his £10 million price tag.