Why it’s high time Southampton’s out of favour 22-year-old to head out on loan this month

Why Sam Gallagher should leave Southampton out on loan

It hasn’t been the greatest of starts to the season for the Saints, with 1 point from their first two games. However, with the quality of players in their ranks, Mark Hughes’ side are strong mid-table contenders and it would be way too early to write them off.

The Saints might look back on their opening day fixture and regret not having made more out of it. Southampton had a whopping 18 attempts on goal but only 3 were on target. The game against Everton was always going to be a tough one for Mark Hughes’ side but the Saints were let down by their poor shooting and finishing.

Mark Hughes has spent quite a lot of money in the summer transfer window to bring the likes of Mohamed Elyounoussi, Stuart Armstrong and Jannik Vestergaard to the club and it is now time for Southampton to offload some of their fringe players.

And Sam Gallagher would be the perfect option to send out on loan. The 22-year-old forward has been in Southampton’s ranks but has made only 18 appearances for Southampton. With Charlie Austin, Danny Ings, Manolo Gabbiadini and Mohamed Elyounoussi in the squad, Sam Gallagher would arguably be Southampton’s fifth choice forward.

However, Southampton should only look to loan out the youngster because he has a lot of potential and can be a future asset to the club. The 22-year-old spent last season on loan at Birmingham City but did not do any good to his chances of breaking into Southampton’s first-team picture as he scored only 6 goals in 33 games.

Gallagher was on loan at MK Dons and Blackburn Rovers earlier in his career and it does not look as if fate has anything different in store for him.

The Sun reports that Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers are interested in signing the former England U20 international on loan.

The youngster is good in the air but still lacks in some areas of his game. His finishing wasn’t of the best standard in the Championship last season and he visibly lacks composure in the final third. He lacks the ability to link up with his co-attackers and his passing and ball retention isn’t very good either.

It might sound a bit harsh but it is true that Gallagher would be better off on loan at the Championship clubs. He needs to work on the flaws of his game in order to be a regular at Premier League clubs.

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Charlie Austin is a proven goalscorer and Danny Ings is also an able centre-forward. Shane Long has somewhat fallen out of favour, with new signing Mohamed Elyounoussi making substitute appearances. Manolo Gabbiadini has the experience of playing for top clubs in Italy and is much more dynamic when compared to any other attacker in the squad.

It is clear that Gallagher will only be making up the numbers in such a squad and it is better for him to venture out on loan and get some regular first-team action.