Russell Martin will travel to his former side in Swansea City this weekend full of confidence, his current Southampton team within touching distance of the automatic promotion spots in the Championship.
The Saints could well leapfrog Ipswich Town to that coveted second position if results go their way, knowing that a win away in Wales would mean the promotion hopefuls would be now 20 games unbeaten in the division with their last loss coming in September last year against Middlesbrough.
Still, with a desire to immediately return to the Premier League with the Saints as manager at the forefront of his mind regardless of vocal plaudits, Martin could add this new addition to his currently unstoppable group to strengthen even more.
Southampton looking at their own Summerville
Football journalist Sacha Tavolieri has confirmed that Southampton are interested in bringing Burnley attacker Manuel Benson to St Mary’s this month, the Clarets forward only featuring four times for Vincent Kompany’s men since making the step-up to the Premier League.
An offer has been made for his services from the Saints, with the out-of-sorts Belgian winger itching for a move away from Turf Moor to Southampton.
Leeds are also keen on signing the explosive 26-year-old, but Southampton will hope that their fellow promotion rivals aren’t successful in this deal with the Saints aiming to make Benson their very own Crysencio Summerville who is lighting up the Championship with Daniel Farke’s Whites this season.
How Manuel Benson compares to Crysencio Summerville
Benson terrorised second tier defences in a similar fashion last campaign to what Summerville is achieving now, dazzling any opposition player trying to keep him under wraps with unbelievable skill.
It led to the Belgian attacker scoring 12 goals in the Championship last season for Kompany’s eventual title-winners, with his Leeds counterpart already on that same total at Elland Road from just 24 games played so far.
Benson’s statistics going forward last season were frightening, always constantly wanting to bomb up the pitch with an astounding 15.28 progressive passes received and 10.12 progressive carries managed on average per 90 minutes over the last year.
Amazingly, the standout Dutchman in West Yorkshire isn’t far off these staggering numbers considering he’s only really burst into life this season – averaging 8.76 progressive passes received and 5.49 progressive carries over the same time period.
Both players are also unafraid to test the goalkeeper with speculative efforts, Summerville averaging 3.36 shots on goal to Benson’s slightly better 3.50, as per FBref.
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Crysencio Summerville: 2023/24 Championship |
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|---|---|
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Games |
24 |
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Goals |
12 |
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Assists |
7 |
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Minutes played |
1,915 |
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Goals per minute |
159′ |
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Stats via Transfermarkt. |
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Although Southampton are going about their business swimmingly in the division, adding in an asset such as Benson on a loan deal could prove to be a real difference maker in their bid to unsettle the top two further and win automatic promotion.
EFL pundit Sam Parkin commented on Benson’s heroics last season when speaking on the EFL Highlights Show, labelling his efforts in a win against Middlesbrough as “electric” with the dynamic Belgian scoring twice on the day.
Missing seven big chances last campaign which could have made his 12-goal total even more impressive, Martin will want the luxury of having Benson to call upon when needed to catch teams cold with a long-range strike out of nowhere.
Slotting the exuberant 26-year-old attacker into the lineup alongside the likes of Adam Armstrong could make the Saints even more of a juggernaut, Ipswich fearing about their grip on second spot slipping if Martin’s men seal this golden deal.