For the past year and a half, Charlie Austin has featured around the fringes of the Premier League. Although he enjoyed a breakout season in the top flight in 2014/2015 with QPR, his side was relegated at the end of the campaign.
This saw the former Burnley striker suffer a disrupted season in 2015/2016; the first half of which was spent in the Championship in West London and the second on the physio’s table at Southampton.
But a summer of upheaval on the South Coast has rejuvenated Austin’s prospects. With Italian striker Graziano Pelle departing to China and new manager Claude Puel favouring a 4-4-2 diamond system, a fit and fiiring Austin has found his way back into the side and to scoring form.
The key question surrounding Austin is whether the 6.5 striker has the quality and the service to continue his good run, plus the endurance to maintain it.
Taking a look at Southampton’s performance data as a whole along with Austin’s individual statistics, we attempt to shed some light on the issue in this latest article for members.
