Southampton find themselves without a win, and only a goal next to their name from their opening four Premier League fixtures.
It's been a less than ideal start, to say the least for Russell Martin's men, with their dominance of the ball away at Brentford last time out in the top-flight at 63% possession meaning very little, as Thomas Frank's Bees ruthlessly put three past Alex McCarthy in a 3-1 win for the hosts.
Martin will be understandably concerned, but a recent entertaining game versus Cardiff City in the EFL Cup will provide glimmers of hope for the Saints boss, with a whole host of young Southampton talents impressing in the Welsh capital.
The raw gems that did impress making the jump up to the senior fold in this mid-week clash will hope they can gain Premier League experience soon too, as the South Coast club is known to be a top environment for youngsters to develop in, with Theo Walcott's rise to stardom starting at St. Mary's one obvious example.
Walcott's rise at Southampton
Now a face on the punditry scene after retiring, it feels an awfully long time ago now that Walcott was once tipped for greatness when first rising up the youth ranks at Southampton to the first-team.
Walcott would become Southampton's youngest-ever goalscorer when he made his men's debut for the Saints back in 2005, gifted the opportunity to shine in the first-team spotlight by then-manager Harry Redknapp.
He ended up never looking back, firing in four goals from 21 senior appearances, before costing Arsene Wenger's Arsenal an initial £5m just a year after his emergence into the senior team.
Going on to feature a staggering 397 times in total in the Premier League, with 108 goals fired into the back of the net when donning a Gunners strip, Walcott would go down as a memorable icon in the elite division's history when he called time on his playing days in 2023.
Southampton's next Theo Walcott
Exciting Saints winger Samuel Amo-Ameyaw will want to replicate Walcott's meteoric rise with Martin's men now, with the 18-year-old standing out in that recent 5-3 win over the Bluebirds.
It's obviously going to be tricky for Amo-Ameyaw to immediately break into the Southampton first-team set-up, especially after the deadline day deal to re-sign Ryan Fraser permanently bolstered the South Coast side down the wings, but the wide-eyed teenager will fancy his chances regardless.
The former Tottenham youngster, who has been described as playing in a "flamboyant" manner by football talent scout Jacek Kulig previously, certainly entertained those in Wales with his display in that back-and-forth Tuesday night contest.
Minutes played
89
Goals scored
1
Assists
0
Touches
63
Accurate passes
43/49 (88%)
Key passes
2
Successful dribbles
1/1
Fouled
3x
Total duels won
5/8
Holding his own in the game against Erol Bulut's hosts, with five duels won from eight attempted, the promising Saints number 27 would also constantly look for an opening against the Championship opponents, with two key passes registered.
Of course, the main highlight from his evening would be firing home his first-ever professional goal for the South Coast side, placing a wonderful effort past Jak Alnwick after a fast-paced and intricate passing move found him kindly in space.
Labelling Amo-Ameyaw as an "exceptional" talent when first taking on the Saints reins last summer, Martin could be prepared to be the 18-year-old's very own Redknapp and gift him more and more minutes in the men's team to come, having already thrown him into action against Newcastle United on the opening day.
The teenage attacker certainly has time on his side, as Southampton aim to discover their next wave of top young talents, akin to Walcott and many others who have gone on to be esteemed professionals away from first learning the ropes at St. Mary's.
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