For the first time in 19 La Liga appearances, Guido Carrillo scored for Leganes.
The 28-year-old joined the Spanish on loan until the end of the season in the summer but had failed to net in any of his first 18 league appearances for the club this term. It was against 19th-placed Deportivo Alaves that he ended his goal drought, which explains his struggles.
Despite him finally breaking his duck, it is unlikely to convince Leganes to attempt to keep him beyond this season.
Of course, his loan spell came after he failed to make the grade at Southampton. He made just 10 appearances and failed to score a single goal. What is even more shocking than that is that he cost the club £19.2m – he is the fourth-most expensive signing in their history according to Transfermarkt.
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His arrival at St. Mary’s Stadium in 2018 was overseen by Les Reed, the then director of football. He spent eight years at the club from 2010 to November 2018 and, whilst he may have helped them become a sustainable Premier League club, some of the recruitment during his tenure was downright abysmal. The very fact Carillo was his first foray into the market after receiving £75m for Virgil van Dijk sums things up.
There have been plenty of examples of players who have cost the south-coast club considerable amounts but have failed to meet the required standards. Jannik Vestergaard, for example, cost the Saints £18m, yet made just 23 starts last season in the top tier and just 13 to date this term.
Sofiane Boufal, meanwhile, cost £16m, yet has just five goals and five assists in 82 matches after scoring 11 times in Ligue 1 in his final season with Lille. Mohamed Elyounoussi, Mario Lemina and Manolo Gabbiadini are others who cost £14m or more yet failed to make long-term impacts at the club. Elyounoussi, for instance, is now on loan at Celtic.
Following Reed’s departure and the exit of Ross Wilson to Rangers, Matt Crocker has taken over the role, and Carrillo’s struggles in Spain should be a timely reminder of what to avoid. Crocker’s only signing so far is Kyle Walker-Peters from Tottenham on loan, but new permanent arrivals should be expected in the summer. Hopefully, he will fare better than one of his predecessors.
Meanwhile, Southampton must avoid a Christian Eriksen situation with this current star.