Last month, Southampton were in the market for a new striker with Birmingham City’s Che Adams one name the club were said to be looking at.
According to Sky Sports, the Saints were keen on bringing in the 22-year-old while being open to letting Charlie Austin go as manager Ralph Hasenhuttl looked to reshape his strikeforce.
With neither deal materialising, though, where does that now leave Austin? The former Queens Park Rangers man is clearly not rated very highly by his manager, who left him on the bench in Southampton’s recent 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City despite first-choice No.9 Danny Ings having been ruled out of the game due to injury.
Indeed, Austin’s future at St. Mary’s looks bleak. On top of falling out of favour under Hasenhuttl, the 29-year-old’s contract situation also suggests an exit is probably imminent.
His current deal expires next summer and with Southampton having been open to a sell last month, an extension seems unlikely meaning a departure could well be on the cards.
And all things considered, now certainly looks like a good time for the two to part ways with plenty of Premier League clubs likely to be monitoring this whole ordeal.
Regardless of the predicament Austin finds himself in, the ex-Burnley player is still a good forward once he gets some rhythm.
Injuries have not made things easy for Austin down years but, when fit and with a run in the team, the English forward has shown he is capable of finding the back of the net.
Inside the box, he is a very clever finisher, able to work off scraps and dispatch away half chances.
The above is something he constantly did with QPR during the 2014/15 Premier League season and, while he may never recover that sort of form, he could still be well worth the gamble at the low price Southampton will likely have to sell him for.
