Southampton’s form has fallen off a cliff of late.

It wasn’t too long ago that Jeff Stelling was touting them for a potential top-six spot, but those ambitions feel like a bit of a distant memory after losing four of their last five games.

It’s no coincidence that the Saints’ form has coincided with the absence of one key man.

Redmond’s absence

The south coast club have been without Nathan Redmond over the past few weeks, and they’ve struggled without him.

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They’ve found the net just four times in the four games he’s been absent, and of the six matches he’s missed all season, they’ve won just one of them.

The winger has been praised by teammates this season, and it’s no surprise that Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have looked a different team without him on the pitch.

Missing him

He may not have played a single minute of action since February 1st, but there can now be no doubt over how important he is to the side.

Ok, he’s not the biggest contributor of goals and assists, scoring three times and assisting once this season, but he’s often causing defences all sorts of problems without directly contributing to goals.

Indeed, Redmond has 1.8 shots per game and 2.3 dribbles per game, while also playing 1.2 key passes per match.

The Saints failed to find the net against Newcastle this weekend, and they scored just once against West Ham the week prior, two teams whose ambitions this season don’t stretch beyond staying in the division, and it seems as though they’ve been missing the creativity and flair that Redmond brings to the side.

Hopefully, the Saints see an upturn in form once the winger is back in action.

In other news, Southampton are eying up one Championship player.