It seems weird to seek out a negative from what is likely one of the best performances this decade from Southampton following their 4-0 win against Portsmouth.
Yet whilst fans revel in Danny Ings’ brace and Maya Yoshida’s admirable defensive display, there was one lone figure on the pitch that carved a frustrated figure in the Southampton XI, that silhouette being Che Adams.
The 23-year-old attacker has been goalless since his reported £15m summer move from Birmingham City according to BBC Sport, with the former Championship star yet to find the back of the net despite playing in all but one of Southampton’s games this season as numbers from Transfermarkt show.
And on Tuesday night, it was more of the same from Adams as the youngster yet again failed to add his name to the scoresheet, with numbers from WhoScored showing that the attacker failed to even register a single shot all game against the League One side.
His latest performance now sees Adams heading into nearly 550 minutes of football with the Saints without a goal, and although Ralph Hasenhuttl is likely to keep his confidence in the Southampton number 10, supporters could begin to sweat over the youngster if doesn’t find his shooting boots soon.
With Tottenham coming up next for the south coast side, a team who recently crashed out of the League Cup via a penalty shootout to League Two side Colchester United, it could be now-or-never for Adams this weekend to find his first professional goal for the Saints.
But this slow start to the season is not an unfamiliar sight from Adams.
Last year saw the 23-year-old striker start the season off slowly for Birmingham, as numbers from Transfermarkt show that it didn’t take until game number five of the Championship season for Adams to find the back of the net, and his tally didn’t hit five until matchday 15, a painfully quiet start for a striker that would end up scoring 22 goals for the West Midlands side in 2018/19.
Patience is needed for Adams, yet seven games in and no goals is a worrying sign for Southampton, who could soon grow inpatient of their summer signing.
