Ross Stewart, Southampton latest could be bad news for Wolves: View | OneFootball

Highlights

On the whole, it has been a generally promising start to the season for those of a Southampton persuasion.

Following their relegation from the Premier League to the Championship at the end of last season, the Saints will have been targeting an immediate return to the top-flight of English football during the current campaign.

After something of a mixed start to the season under new manager Russell Martin, the south coast club are now starting to show the potential for success they have this season.

In the wake of their 1-0 win at home to Bristol City on Wednesday night, the Saints are now unbeaten in their last ten league outings, winning seven of those.

That run has seen Martin's side climb to fourth in the second-tier standings, eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places, after 18 Championship games in total.

As a result, it now looks as though Southampton could be set for a rather positive campaign, where they may well have a chance of winning promotion.

But for all that cause for optimism, one aspect of the season that has not gone well for Southampton so far, is the signing of Ross Stewart.

How have things gone for Ross Stewart at Southampton?

Back on the final day of the summer transfer window, Southampton boosted their attacking options, with the signing of Ross Stewart from Championship rivals Sunderland.

It is reported that the Saints paid an initial £8million fee for the signing of the striker, with the potential to pay a further £4million in add-ons.

That fee, combined with the fact that Stewart has previously scored 40 in just 81 appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats, did seem to make this an exciting signing for Southampton.

However, things have since yet to get going for the 27-year-old, who having missed the second half of last season with Sunderland due to injury, fitness issues meant that he did not make his senior debut for Russell Martin's side until November.

But after just two brief substitute appearances for Southampton this month, the striker is now facing yet another spell on the sidelines.

After coming off the bench in Southampton's 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town at the weekend, Stewart was then absent from that victory over Bristol City on Wednesday.

Explaining the reasons for that absence of the striker, Martin explained that Stewart has suffered a setback in his fitness, and now faces a scan to establish the severity of this blow.

Given how things have gone for the 27-year-old, that news will inevitably be hugely frustrating for the striker.

However, it could also be argued that this fresh injury blow for Stewart, could also prove to be something of a blow for Wolves as well.

What could Stewart's injury setback mean for Wolves?

Back in the latter stages of the summer transfer window, it was reported by The Athletic that Wolves had seen a loan move, with the option to buy for a fee of £15million, rejected by Southampton for another of their strikers, in the form of Che Adams.

With Wolves having missed out on the signing of another striker at the end of the summer transfer window, and given Adams has yet to sign a new contract at St Mary's, that may have been a deal worth revisiting for Gary O'Neil's side, once the window reopens in January.

However, the injury blow that Southampton have now been dealt with regards to this injury to Stewart, could put such a deal back in up in the air.

If Stewart is to be ruled out for an extended period once again, the Saints may well be reluctant to leave themselves short on depth, in a position as important as centre forward.

Consequently, that could mean the Championship side would be unwilling to allow Adams to head out in January, in order to ensure they can still retain the goalscoring threat they need, to maintain their push for promotion back to the Premier League.

That in turn, would of course mean that Wolves could miss out on one potential attacking target at the turn of the year.

Given the fact that only two Wolves players, Hwang Hee-Chan (seven) and Matheus Cunha (three) have found the net more than twice in the Premier League this season, missing out on a striker in Adams who has shown in the past he is capable of finding the net in the top-flight, would be another blow for the Molineux club.

With that in mind, there is an argument that Wolves will be hoping for positive news on this latest injury blow for Ross Stewart, just as much as those associated with Southampton themselves.