Southampton winger Nathan Redmond once again put in a disappointing performance in the 2-2 draw against Newcastle United at St Mary's on Sunday.
Saints have struggled to find the net in general this season and Manolo Gabbiadini's brace against the Magpies at the weekend was just the south coast outfit's sixth and seventh goals of the Premier League campaign so far, with three of those coming from the penalty spot.
Mauricio Pellegrino chose to stick with Redmond and Dusan Tadic on the flanks despite both players proving to be largely ineffectual this term, but the former was replaced by Sofiane Boufal, who has featured for just 152 minutes in the top flight this term, in the 57th minute.
The Morocco international certainly added a fresh attacking impetus as the hosts looked to overturn a 2-1 deficit, and he will be pushing for just a second Premier League start of the season against West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's this weekend.
Here are three reasons Boufal must replace Redmond in the XI against the Baggies on Saturday…
He's had enough chances
While Redmond was Southampton's top goalscorer in the Premier League last season with seven goals, he hasn't done enough during the current campaign and in the closing stages of last term to be deserving of what seems to be a guaranteed spot in the starting XI right now.
The 23-year-old has started all eight of Saints' top flight fixtures this term, but since he scored a brace against Watford in March he has made 20 Premier League appearances, failing to find the net and providing four assists.
Considering one of those four is more than a little dubious considering Manolo Gabbiadini did all of the hard work before finding the bottom corner against Newcastle on Sunday, the numbers are even less impressive than they look on paper.
The fans have turned on him
Redmond has been pretty poor this season, but he probably hit a new low against Newcastle that may finally take away the undroppable tag he seems to have.
The 23-year-old was prone to making the wrong decisions – aside from the cross which Dusan Tadic should have done better from – and he even passed the ball straight to a Magpies player after choosing to take a short free-kick.
When the winger was taken off for Boufal in the 57th minute the decision was met with a mix of ironic cheers and boos from the St Mary’s faithful, and Mauricio Pellegrino must take him out of the firing line against West Brom to ensure that his confidence doesn’t take another bashing.
Boufal's impact
When the Morocco international entered the field he seemed to boost the supporters and his teammates, and he probably made more of an impact than Redmond did after just a few minutes on the pitch.
The 24-year-old is full of tricks and happy to take players on from an attacking point of view, but he once again showed that he can be effectively defensively too by tracking back and winning the ball.
Considering West Brom will likely be happy to sit back, be organised defensively and then hit Southampton on the counter-attack on Saturday, the hosts may need someone who has the ability that Boufal clearly does to try and find those few pockets of space in the final third.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.