Will Still has Southampton FC goal machine on his hands - but it could spell the end for Adam Armstrong | OneFootball

Cameron Archer tore it up for Preston and Middlesbrough in the Championship, and this could cause issues for another Saints striker, Adam Armstrong.

Southampton have a potential Championship goal machine in the form of Cameron Archer, and his presence is likely the reason why a long-standing Saint could be on his way out of the club.

Southampton have tumbled back into the Championship from the Premier League with a dismal record, but with a new coach installed, it's time to look forward rather than back.

Will Still has a lot of work to do in order to sort through the wreckage of their 2024-25 season, but one of the most important jobs that he has to face is how to get them scoring goals again.

The Saints scored just 26 Premier League goals during the 2024-25 season - seven fewer than the next lowest, Leicester City - and recorded just two wins from 38 matches.

Cameron Archer could be the answer to Will Still's prayers in the Championship

Archer didn't have an especially impressive 2024-25 season in front of goal for Southampton, scoring just twice in 35 League appearances for them.

But to understand his potential value to Will Still, we have to look slightly further back in his career.

Archer's situation has been a little complicated in recent years. He was sold by Villa to Sheffield United in 2023, and then returned again, before being transferred to Southampton a few weeks later for a fee reported to be around £15 million.

But two earlier seasons are of particular interest. In January 2022, he was loaned out to Preston North End, where he ran up seven goals in 20 appearances for the Lilywhites.

Following his return to Aston Villa at the end of the 21/22 season, he was loaned out again, this time to Middlesbrough in January 2023. There he scored 11 in 22 Championship appearances, with six assists on top of that.

This is clearly a player who can score goals in the Championship.

Archer's Championship record could mean the end of the road for Adam Armstrong and Southampton

All of this may mean trouble for another Southampton striker.

Adam Armstrong scored 24 goals as the Saints were promoted into the Premier League in 2023-24, but his 2024-25 season didn't go according to plan.

After scoring just twice in 20 Premier League games for the Saints, he was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion for the second half of last season.

But his move to The Hawthorns didn't go so well either, as he could only manage three goals in 16 games for the Baggies, as their play-off aspirations evaporated.

As such, he's returned to St Mary's in an unclear position this summer. Having signed an extension to 2027 with them last year, he could be ripe for loaning out again.

With new management at The Hawthorns, it may be that another period on loan in the Championship - where he proved he could score goals not just during 2023-24, but from his time with Blackburn Rovers too - is a better fit than warming the bench at St Mary's, or that a sale or loan could be agreed elsewhere before the closure of the transfer window.

At 28 years of age, he's in what should be the peak phase of his playing career, and if he can't force his way back into contention at St Mary's, a need for more regular football might yet prove to be the end of the road in the relationship between Armstrong and the Saints.