Southampton supporters in the Transfer Tavern have been pretty upbeat in recent times after seeing their side book their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup earlier this week.

Mark Hughes’ men have endured a tough start to the new Premier League season in losing two of their opening three matches, with their tally of one point from those three games leaving them just above the bottom three in the table. Yet Saints supporters had something to cheer about on Tuesday night as a Charlie Austin strike two minutes from time was enough to knock South Coast rivals Brighton out of the Carabao Cup, thus booking Southampton’s spot in round three.

As such, there have been many satisfied Saints fans up and down the country in recent times, with Tuesday’s clash at the AMEX Stadium also the scene of striker Sam Gallagher’s first appearance of the 2018/19 season.

But given the arrival of Danny Ings during the transfer window, alongside the other options at Hughes’ disposal, it’s fair to say that the £40,000-a-week hotshot (as per Spotrac) faces a very uncertain future at St Mary’s.

Ultimately, the 22-year-old began his youth career at Plymouth Argyle before signing for Southampton back in 2012, for whom he then made his senior debut a year later in their League Cup defeat at Sunderland.

And the former England youth international has since made a further 20 senior appearances for the club in which time he has netted on two occasions, but the majority of his time on the books at Southampton has been littered with loan spells to the lower leagues.

Gallagher has spent time at MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers, and Birmingham City in recent times to suggest that he still remains a way away from commanding regular football at St Mary’s, and the arrival of Ings over the summer is only likely to push him even further down the pecking order.

The one-time England international was brought in by Hughes in the last knockings of the English window to help solve their evident goal-scoring problem, and he alongside the likes of Charlie Austin, Manolo Gabbiadini, and Shane Long gives the Saints chief a decent striking department, even before one considers Gallagher.

As such, it seems as though the 22-year-old is going to struggle once again to play regularly at Southampton this season, and with no appearances in any of Hughes’ three matchday squads for their Premier League games this term, the writing certainly appears to be on the wall.

Whether or not the Englishman is able to secure a loan move away before the EFL window shuts tomorrow remains to be seen, otherwise he faces what is likely to be a testing season at St Mary’s this time round.

Southampton fans… what do you think? Let us know!