Jay Rodriguez has had somewhat of a turbulent career at Southampton so far. He signed for the Saints following their promotion to the Premier League in 2012, departing Burnley for a nominal £7m fee. His time at the St. Mary’s has been quite a mixed one so far as it’s been a bed of both roses and thorns.
His first season in the Premier League was quite ordinary, but the second one was an excellent one for the Englishman as he scored 15 goals in 33 appearances, before getting struck by injury like it was lightning, as he was on the sidelines for a period of close to 11 months and that can be quite damaging in a player’s career.
His form prior to getting injured had lead to him being called up to the national squad and it was even mooted that he could be part of the World Cup 2014 squad, but things didn’t go according to plan as he missed out on going to Brazil due to his horrible injury. This had quite an impact on him, mentally more than physically as in the season that followed, he made no appearances at all.
The season after that saw him feature close to 15 times in all competitions, with only 1 goal in the cup to show for his efforts. Clearly, Jay Rodriguez wasn’t the player that he was before and the injury had taken its toll on him. That is only natural when a player misses the entirety of the season owing to injury and given the nature of Jay’s illness, it took him some time to feel comfortable with his feet again.
This season, Jay Rodriguez took remarkable steps to get back to his former self as he has looked more at home in a Saints shirt under new manager Claude Puel, who recognized that jay had to be dealt with, in a manner of care and close concentration. This seems to have helped Rodriguez, who has 5 goals in all competitions to his name, with 4 of them being league efforts.
Tottenham were previously linked with Jay during his rich vein of form. Those links have surfaced again, as Tottenham will look to further enhance their options in the attacking quarter of their side. They currently have a young, exhilarating English-themed attacking unit, thanks to the presence of Delle Alli and Harry Kane. Pochettino has first-hand seen Jay Rodriguez’s abilities, but albeit not on the playing field as he was injured for most of the Argentinean’s period as manager of the club.
The addition of Jay Rodriguez to those two names, along with the other attacking talent they possess, would surely turn them into a force to be reckoned with, against any opposition. Jay’s ability to either play up front or as a wide forward could help him settle at Tottenham. The number of young, English players at the club, could also entice Jay into making the move to White Hart Lane in order to further his career prospects.
While the rest of the Premier League top guns look to spend money left, right and center on attacking acquisitions, Tottenham need not look further than the South coast, where an able player in the form of Jay Rodriguez could be tailor-made for their needs. Spurs will need squad depth as they are likely to participate in the Champions League again and Rodrigues could be more than just a valuable addition to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.