Eight games deep in the Premier League and striker Charlie Austin is finding life tough at the moment at Southampton, with just six appearances - all from the substitutes bench. The 28-year old has not played more than 21 minutes in any of those fixtures, most recently accumulating 19 minutes of game-time in the last three fixtures. What Are The Odds looks at a potential transfer in January for the Englishman.
Interestingly, odds are available again on such a move happening away from St Mary’s after signing from QPR back in January 2016, and ironically bookmaker Sky Bet make the west London club the favourites at this early stage to take him back - with odds of 8/1 (9.00).
No doubt the club managed by Ian Holloway could do with a boost in their Championship campaign, with just three victories in their first 12 fixtures, but sit in a stable looking 15th place thanks to five draws. With England in the World Cup and Austin potentially looking to give Gareth Southgate a headache or two when it comes to selection at the end of the season it would potentially be a strange move for a striker that is more than capable of scoring at the highest level to return to the second tier.
If the World Cup is a target then Austin will see that the bookies have priced in Premier League clubs to make up the rest of the market, starting with Burnley at 12/1 (13.0) and Crystal Palace at 16/1 (17.0). Palace have made no secret that they want to add reinforcements to their frontline and could turn to Austin in January - Burnley on the other hand bought Chris Wood from Leeds United and may have spent up the majority of their transfer budget, thus a move to south London could very well be a tangible link.
Ronald Koeman will be hoping Everton remain patient after a tricky start to the season and let him try and add a striker to the squad in January as it’s obvious they failed to replace Lukaku with a dominant presence in the box. Charlie Austin may not be a 20 goal a season striker, but he would provide the resilience and presence that is seemingly lacking from the Toffees frontline. Odds of 25/1 (26.0) suggest it’s an unlikely transfer deal but with limited options available it may be ‘one to watch’ as the weeks go by.
The Hammers already have plenty of attacking talent in Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez but that isn’t stopping the east-end club making up the market, also way back at 25/1 (26.0). The question is, will Southampton want to let him go? If the odds are anything to go by then there will be shortage of interest if the south-coast Premier League club do decide to cash-in.
Probability of Charlie Austin's next club
| Next Club | Charlie Austin Transfer Odds | Probability | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QPR | 8/1 | 11.11% | |
| Burnley | 12/1 | 7.69% | |
| Crystal Palace | 16/1 | 5.88% | |
| Everton | 25/1 | 3.85% | |
| West Ham | 25/1 | 3.85% | |
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