Jay Rodriguez has scored only four Premier League goals this season.
Jay Rodriguez netted twice at Bournemouth, but on the whole it’s been another torrid season for him
When Gareth Southagate announced his latest England squad, the name Jay Rodriguez didn’t cross anyone’s mind.
The striker-slash-winger’s irrelevance to the national team was just another reminder of how far he has fallen over the three years, primarily through no fault of his own.
Back in the 2013/14 season, he earned his first and only England cap in a friendly against Chile and, as the leading scorer in a Southampton side that was on-course for a record finish, was tipped to go to that summer’s World Cup.
But when he ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament that became impossible, and in truth he’s yet to recover.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Total Tackles | Total Shots | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Rodriguez | 2013-2014 | 33 | 15 | 3 | 47 | 101 |
| Jay Rodriguez | 2016-2017 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 26 |
After missing the whole of the following season, unrelated injuries have hampered his progress both last and this campaign, with Rodriguez looking a shadow of his former self when he has got on the pitch.
His confidence looks shot, he’s struggled to get into matches and Claude Puel’s system would also appear to play to Rodriguez’s strengths less than Mauricio Pochettino’s did.
Jay Rodriguez looks destined to be another one cap wonder at this rate
Since Manolo Gabbiadini’s arrival he’s dropped further down the pecking order and, with game-time looking hard to come by, the best way forward for both parties may well be for Rodriguez to leave in the summer.
That could just be temporary – a loan deal to a Championship club where he’d play week in, week out would make sense – or a permanent departure for a fresh start in a new system.
Rodriguez will be 28 in the summer and, sad as it is, leaving St Mary’s appears his best hope of reviving his career.
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