"Very disappointed" - Clear Southampton, Adam Armstrong transfer stance issued amid West Brom struggles | OneFootball

Armstrong is set to return to the Saints soon following a tough loan spell at West Brom

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Southampton have been urged to keep hold of striker Adam Armstrong this summer, despite his tough loan spell at West Brom over the last few months, due to his standout performances at St Mary's last season as they got promoted to the Premier League.

The Saints have massively struggled in the top-flight this season, and their relegation back to the second-tier was confirmed in early April as they became the first team in Premier League history to go down with as many as seven games of the campaign remaining.

It is fair to say that the writing was on the wall for some time this term, and they will have long begun preparations for next season as they aim to challenge near the top of the second-tier once again.

It remains to be seen who will be in charge at St Mary's, following Ivan Juric's departure on the day they were officially relegated, but the club will have ideas on who they wish to keep or let go this summer. Armstrong's future could well be up in the air following a tough campaign with the Saints and on loan at the Baggies.

Adam Armstrong told he will be 'vital' to Southampton ahead of 2025-26 season

Armstrong joined Southampton from Blackburn Rovers in 2021 in a deal understood to be worth £15m, but despite being a standout in the second-tier at Ewood Park, he struggled to make a real impact in the Premier League in his first two seasons at the club.

The Newcastle-upon-Tyne-born forward was unable to help the Saints avoid relegation to the second-tier in 2023, but it was arguably a blessing in disguise from a personal point of view, as he sprung into life back in the Championship and registered a brilliant 24 goals and 13 assists in 49 league games while they immediately bounced back to the top-flight through the play-offs.

He netted the all-important play-off final winning strike against Leeds United at Wembley, but again was unable to transfer that form over to the top-flight in the first-half of this season.

​​​​​​Armstrong scored just twice in 20 league games for the Saints prior to a January loan move to West Brom, but he also surprisingly struggled to find form in the Championship at The Hawthorns, leading many supporters to question whether he has a future on the south coast, where expectations will be high for another promotion push next season.

FLW's Saints fan pundit, Martin Sanders, has urged the club to keep the 28-year-old at St Mary's for their return to the second-tier, as, despite his poor Baggies performances, he has a proven track record of being a key man for Southampton in the Championship, and could be important to their potential promotion push in 2025/26.

“He signed a two-year contract in the summer, Adam Armstrong. He’s not a Premier League striker, we all know that," Martin told FLW.

“He’s not been able to step up. He’s not good enough for the Premier League, but as a Championship striker, 24 goals last time round and a huge amount of assists, he was good.

“He wore the armband a lot, never really led the line by playing through the middle, but his contributions got us promoted back to the Premier League.

“He will be a vital member of the squad next season. I’d be very, very disappointed if we let him go.”

Armstrong has flopped at West Brom - it still seems unlikely that Southampton will sell him this summer

Armstrong actually started 15 of Southampton's Premier League games in the first half of this season, even captaining the team in two outings, but he was allowed to leave late in the January window after asking boss Ivan Juric to leave on loan for the second-half of the campaign.

The 28-year-old insisted at the time of his move to The Hawthorns that he was "dying to try and make (the move) happen," as he linked up with his former Coventry City and Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray in the hopes of consolidating the Baggies in the top-six of the Championship table.

He got off to a great start at the club with a goal on his debut in a February home win over Sheffield Wednesday, then played his part in some good form before he scored the winner in a key 1-0 victory against QPR in early March.

Armstrong's seemingly short Baggies career peaked at that moment, as he made five more starts without registering a goal contribution and was dropped from the starting eleven against Watford earlier this month, which coincided with West Brom's first win since that game against the Hoops.

He netted once more recently, but his strike was unable to help the Baggies avoid a damaging home defeat to Derby County, and his trusted boss Mowbray was even relieved of his duties after just a few short months in charge nearly two weeks ago.

It is clear that Armstrong's time at The Hawthorns has not gone to plan at all, with the club having finished ninth in the league following the conclusion of the campaign. He can not solely shoulder the blame for their downfall, but many connected to West Brom would have expected so much more from him given his impressive form at Southampton in his last Championship season.

With that in mind, it does still feel unlikely that the Saints will be happy to sell him anytime soon as they prepare for a return to the second-tier, as whoever comes in as their new head-coach is going to want to have some experienced, Championship-ready players to rely on to help the club compete at the top of the table next season.

On his day, Armstrong can be one of the best forwards in the division, so any potential transfer fee that they may receive for him would likely not be close to what he could be worth to them if he impresses once again in 2025/26. As a result, it certainly seems probable that he stays around at St Mary's to help them bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.