Southampton FC supporters must remember situation Samuel Edozie has faced: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Samuel Edozie hasn't quite hit the heights expected of him so far this season, but Southampton fans should consider his situation before making a final call on him.

Despite featuring in 12 of the Saints opening 14 games, starting eight of them, the Jury is still out for many Southampton fans on whether Edozie is the right fit for their side.

There have been questions asked over the end product of the England youth international, with his only goals this season coming against Leicester City and QPR, as well as his only assist coming in their last game, a 3-1 win over Birmingham City.

But it's not been plain sailing for Edozie since signing from Manchester City in 2022, for a reported fee of around £10 million.

The 20-year-old looked a real coup at the time for the Saints, with Edozie playing a key part in Manchester City's Premier League 2 winning campaign in 2020/21 and producing an exciting pre-season campaign for the Blues in 2021, scoring two goals, before an unfortunate injury kept him out for a large part of the following season.

Southampton have dealt a fair bit of business with City of the last few tranfer windows, with the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Gavin Bazunu, Shea Charles and Juan Larios all swapping the northwest for the south coast.

Like Edozie, a number of these youngsters will need patience if they are to eventually break into the first-team, with the likes of Edozie, Charles and Larios all lacking any sort of first-team experience before making their move to St Mary's stadium.

Having only made 17 Premier League appearances in his first season with Southampton, with 12 of those coming off the bench, Edozie showed glimpses of his ability and was expected to make the step-up after relegation from the Premier League would likely see him feature more for the club.

The tricky winger was never able to fully flourish in his first season at the club as he had to earn the trust of three different managers - Ralph Hassenhuttl, Nathan Jones and Ruben Selles - but many were surprised to not see Edozie feature more towards the back end of last season, with relegation looking a certainty for the Saints.

As expected, with the appointment of Russell Martin in the Summer, Edozie has been given more chances to shine this season, but his first season in the Championship is yet to set the world alight.

Edozie did in fact start the season relatively strong, but the return of Kamaladeen Sulemana has seen him lose his place in the starting XI over recent weeks.

Still only 20-years-old, Edozie certainly has time on his side and his end product, as well as his adaptation to Championship football, will likely improve as his career begins to mature under Martin.

The Saints have been in relatively fine form for the most-part of this season and currently sit fourth in the Championship, with seven wins from their opening 14 games, but still a whopping 20 points off runaway leaders Leicester.