Southampton man must impress Will Still this Championship season as he faces last chance at Saints

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One Southampton player faces a make-or-break season at St Mary’s as his current contract expires at the end of the 2025/26 season.

Since Will Still was appointed as Southampton boss this summer, the Saints went through a transitional period over the transfer window.

Several marquee Saints players have departed the club, namely with Mateus Fernandes joining West Ham and Tyler Dibling moving to Everton.

On the other hand, some serious quality was added to Still’s squad before deadline day, with Southampton’s key addition being Finn Azaz, who joined after his eight-figure move from Middlesbrough.

Amid the changes at the club and the Saints’ solid start to the second tier season, one fringe Southampton figure is facing their last chance saloon at St Mary’s.

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Ross Stewart faces his last chance to impress at Southampton

The 2025/26 Championship season will prove to be make-or-break for Ross Stewart’s Southampton future.

Stewart arrived in the second tier as an unknown entity when Sunderland signed the Scottish striker from Ross County in 2021 for a fee of just £300,000, which proved to be an unequivocal bargain.

After the affectionately named ‘Loch Ness Drogba’ scored 40 goals in just 81 appearances for the Black Cats, with 26 of those coming in Sunderland’s promotion-winning League One season in 2021/22, Southampton shelled out an initial £8m fee for Stewart with £2m in add-ons.

Following several weeks of speculation, Stewart made the “tough” decision to leave Sunderland in 2023, but his time at Southampton has been blighted by injuries.

In his two seasons on the South Coast since September 2023, Stewart has missed 58 games for Southampton due to various injury setbacks, limiting the Scot to just 21 Saints outings.

Stewart has a big point to prove at Southampton this season, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season, and the fully fit again Scot has already shown signs of promise with his assist in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Norwich City last month.

The Saints boss witnessed what Stewart can provide before he took charge, when Still saw from the stands of St Mary’s, Stewart score against Arsenal in a 2-1 defeat for Southampton on the final day of last season.

With one season remaining on his Saints deal, Stewart will be desperate to earn himself a new contract by performing well between now and May, under a manager he rates very highly.

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What Ross Stewart thinks of Southampton boss Will Still

Stewart is clearly down the centre-forward pecking order at Southampton currently after just 38 minutes of Championship action.

Saints strikers Cameron Archer, Adam Armstrong, Kuryu Matsuki and Damion Downs all appear to be more at the forefront of Still’s selection thoughts over the Scotsman, who has “really enjoyed” his spell under the new Southampton boss.

Stewart told the Southern Daily Echo: “I have really enjoyed Will, he brings a good intensity – we have been doing lots of double sessions, but there is a good balance.

“He has been getting his tactical ideas across similarly to Russell Martin, and maybe a bit different from Ivan Juric, but you will get that with managers.”

Time is running out for the striker who remains highly-regarded by Black Cats fans after scoring in Sunderland’s League One play-off final over Wycombe Wanderers in 2022.

The goalscoring prowess that Stewart possesses is undeniable, with his ability to score in all attacking scenarios, run the channels or link up with his fellow teammates.

However, the question that has lingered over his career since leaving the Stadium of Light has been his battle to stay off the sidelines, and this season could very well be the Scot’s last at Southampton if he fails to stay fit and firing.