Ross Stewart, the Southampton summer signing, appears to be making progress in his recovery, having started for the Saints’ U21s this afternoon.
On the final day of the summer transfer window, Southampton signed Stewart from Sunderland.
The Saints paid an initial fee of £8 million, with a further £4 million potentially coming later in add-ons, but the striker has yet to make his Saints debut.
Stewart has missed the majority of this season due to an Achilles injury, but he starts for Southampton’s U21s against Sunderland’s U21s this afternoon.
The 27-year-old led the Black Cats to promotion from League One in 2022, scoring 26 goals in the league that season and 10 in 13 Championship appearances the previous season.
His season was hampered by two major injuries, but when he was available, he showed his class in the second tier, and Martin will no doubt be eager for him to get fit and firing with the first-team.
A welcome return for Southampton…
Given the severity of Stewart’s injury, Martin and Southampton are unlikely to rush him back into Championship action, so expect a few games with the U21s to get him back in shape.
However, this is a significant step forward for Stewart. He’ll get a chance to show off his skills against the U21s and give Martin some food for thought in the future.
Stewart is obviously a striker with a great pedigree in the Championship, but with players like Adam Armstrong scoring goals, it’s unclear where Stewart fits in.
Martin, on the other hand, has a nice problem to have with his team returning to Championship action this weekend against Millwall.
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