Journalist Tom Barclay believes it is "unrealistic" to expect Adam Armstrong to emulate Danny Ings' goalscoring exploits at Southampton straight away.
Ings scored 46 goals in 100 appearances for the Saints before moving to Aston Villa for £25m in the summer.
How has Armstrong fared at Southampton so far?
Armstrong joined Southampton as Ings' apparent replacement for £15m in August, and he got off to the perfect start when he scored on his debut against Everton.
However, he has failed to find the net since then, which led to him being dropped from the starting line-up for the side's games against Leeds and Burnley last month.
He came back into the team this past weekend against Watford, and assisted the only goal of the game as Southampton edged past Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road.
What has Barclay said about Armstrong?
Given how prolific Ings was in a Saints shirt, it was always going to be difficult to replace him. Barclay has hinted that he is not surprised that Armstrong has found things tough at St Mary's, given that he had only played in the Premier League on 15 occasions prior to this season.
Speaking about Armstrong coming in for Ings, he told GIVEMESPORT: “I think to expect any other player, particularly a player who has very little Premier League experience, I know he played a bit at Newcastle, to do that from the off is unrealistic.”
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Do Southampton fans need to be patient with Armstrong?
Armstrong has hardly hit the ground running on the South Coast, but it is still very early days.
Ings only scored seven goals himself in his first season at Southampton, showing how it can take time for high-class strikers to start finding the net regularly at a new club.
There is no doubt that Armstrong is a talented forward. After all, he scored 28 goals in the Championship for Blackburn Rovers last term. It may just be a case of Southampton fans remaining patient with their summer signing.
His performance on Saturday was a step in the right direction, as he demonstrated that there is more to his game than just scoring by assisting Che Adams' winner.
If he can keep playing at that level on a more consistent basis, he will start to win Southampton's supporters over, and could potentially prove himself to be a worthy replacement for Ings in the long-term.
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