Troy Deeney explains why he wouldn’t start ‘influential’ Southampton player v West Brom

Former Watford striker Troy Deeney was a pundit as part of Sky Sport’s Championship play-off coverage on Sunday.

The recently departed striker was a member of a broadcasting lineup that saw 180 minutes of football without a single goal; Leeds United drew 0-0 away at Norwich City, and Southampton and West Brom also ended in the same outcome.

If Ross Stewart, the striker for Southampton, had been able to start, that would not have been the case, but as it was, he played for the final 30 minutes during his longest stint on the field since joining the Saints for £10 million in the summer. Stewart’s injury history has been rough. The 27-year-old was signed by Southampton with an achilles injury, and after making two substitute appearances in November, he developed a hamstring strain that sidelined him until the last day of the season against Leeds.

The fact Southampton made the decision to spend such a fee on a player who had already been out injured for eight months when he arrived at the club shows just how highly Russell Martin and the club rate the striker.

Nevertheless, Deeney said the Saints shouldn’t be tempted to start the Scotland international right away in Friday night’s second leg.