Southampton struck gold signing this star in the summer, softening the blow of James Ward-Prowse leaving almost immediately.
Following Southampton’s relegation to the Championship, there was an air of inevitable expectation that James Ward-Prowse would leave the Saints.
With his ability to turn a game around for his team with a little flair, Ward-Prowse had practically come to be associated with St Mary’s. The 29-year-old had made 410 appearances for the team overall, scoring 55 goals.
The Saints star would be acquired by West Ham United for a reported £30 million in the summer, a move that might have ended Southampton’s hopes of being promoted back to the Premier League.
Nineteen games into the second-tier season, Russell Martin’s team isn’t feeling the effects of Ward-Prowse’s departure at all because this new central midfield gem easily replaces the former Saints number eight in the starting lineup.
In fact, Flynn Downes has quickly won over the Saint Mary’s supporters. Southampton signed Downes on a season-long loan from the London Stadium in exchange for Ward-Prowse, who was traded to the Hammers.
Even in his quieter moments, as he did in Southampton’s most recent game against Cardiff City, the former Swansea City player displays Premier League calibre playmaking.
Flynn Downes’ game vs Cardiff in numbers
Downes has been instrumental in the centre of the park for his new employers, Martin’s possession-heavy style of football dictates that a midfielder such as the 24-year-old is constantly on the ball and present.
Against Cardiff last match, Downes amassed an astounding 110 touches in the centre of a midfield trio as per Sofascore alongside Stuart Armstrong and Shea Charles.
However, on the day, just two of the West Ham loanee’s passes were crucial; the majority of his touches and subsequent passes failed to spark a move that would have opened the Cardiff defence. Instead, Downes made sure his team maintained a fair amount of possession—Martin’s team had 64% of the ball against the Bluebirds.
Since Charles and Armstrong contributed significantly more, Downes received an average Sofascore rating of 6.8 for his efforts in the unremarkable and simple 2-0 victory.
Downes, 24, does, however, excel and lead from the front for the Saints most of the time; his play style bears resemblance to Ward-Prowse’s glory days on the South Coast.
The numbers for Flynn Downes this season
This season in the Championship, the midfielder has completed 71.9 accurate passes per ninety minutes with the ball with an unwavering calmness.
The 24-year-old is proving to be just that for the promotion-chasing Southampton team. Described as a “outstanding” footballer by his manager upon his arrival, he’s also’really brave’ with or without the ball at his feet. Martin managed Downes at Swansea before taking the reins at Southampton.
Downes has only contributed one assist thus far, but the Saints number four is always open to receiving a pass to play someone into space. The Hammers loanee is always involved in passing moves and is always alert.
It’s possible that the Saints wouldn’t have Downes in the middle of the park to keep things cohesive and running smoothly.
The midfield maestro will continue showing off his silky skills on the St Mary’s turf, hoping that he can help his short-term employers win promotion back up to the top flight.
Downes will also want to get in on the act going forward by breaking his Southampton goalscoring duck, but the ex-Swans man isn’t renowned for his goalscoring prowess with only four goals scored in his professional career to date.
Still, the understated midfield gem will continue plugging away as a key figure for a resurgent and new Southampton team succeeding without Ward-Prowse.
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