SAINTS added attacking quality this week with the addition of Ben Brereton Diaz. I'm really excited by his arrival.
I think he will bring something a bit different to our forward line. We have had Ross Stewart at the club, but he has hardly played due to injury issues.
With Che Adams leaving we needed to add in the striker department. For the money we have spent, this looks like a great deal.
He impressed a lot of people during his short spell at Sheffield United last season, scoring six times in 14 Premier League appearances.
He will hopefully renew his partnership with Adam Amstrong. They both played alongside each other at Blackburn and enjoyed a lot of success doing so.
His arrival feels like a good addition all around. If you look at some of the goals he has scored, you can see how he will fit into the forward line.
That relationship with Armstrong and Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Blackburn will also help him settle on the south coast quicker than some other players.
No signing is 100 per cent guaranteed to be a success, but let's hope that this one is.
Brereton Diaz isn't the only goalscoring forward to join a club in our local area this week. Charlie Austin has also joined AFC Totton.
I must admit, that is not a move I ever thought I would see. I would never have been able to predict this.
It's a great move for Totton and one that I imagine has come from James Beattie's contacts and relationships.
📸⚽️🦌 CHARLIE AUSTIN Poses for Photos to Mark His Signing for AFC Totton...
— AFC Totton 🦌 (@AFCTotton) July 31, 2024
View the full GALLERY:https://t.co/yhU3f2ylOk
Images courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography pic.twitter.com/ozBZoWhj36
When he was appointed director of football at Totton, this is the type of move they would have been hoping for. Signing Austin may have even surpassed their expectations.
I also wanted to mention local boxer Ryan Garner after he successfully retained his WBC International Super-Featherweight Championship.
I met him at a Saints game at St Mary's a little while ago and he was speaking about his hopes of fighting at the stadium one day.
Since then he has gone on a run of wins against tough opponents. He has still got his unbeaten record intact.
With every win and retention of his title, the chances of a St Mary's homecoming will likely increase.
Ryan is a massive Saints fan so it would be incredible to see him fighting in front of thousands of supporters.
Another local sportsman doing great stuff is golfer Harry Ellis, who recently joined Saints Foundation as an ambassador.
It's great to see the foundation expanding their ambassadors to other sports and I look forward to potentially working alongside him down the line.
As much as I've loved seeing Saints back in action, I've also really enjoyed watching the Olympics over the last few days.
While I've not watched every single event, I have tuned into bits and pieces and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sports you don't tend to see week to week.
Growing up I played any sport I could. Tuning into Superstars on TV and seeing all the athletes from different sports competing against each other was another real highlight of my childhood.
We have some locals out in France competing for medals. Hopefully, as many of those can achieve their lifelong ambition of winning an Olympic medal.
I have a real admiration for Olympians because they have to remain focused and disciplined for such a long time.
Unlike in football, competitions are spread out. Football is very much week to week, but the Olympics come every four years.
Hopefully we will see Team GB near the top of the medals charts come the end of the 2024 Olympics.
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