JAY Rodriguez will be hoping to show what Saints are missing out on when he returns to St Mary’s for the first time since his summer move to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

The 28-year-old striker has recently been tipped for a recall to the England squad for the first time since his 2013 call-up while with Saints, and will be keen to demonstrate that he has moved on since his frustrating end to life on the south coast.

Rodriguez was a fans’ favourite at St Mary’s - and remains a popular figure even after his exit.

But after a magnificent 17-goal campaign in 2013/14 ended in a serious knee injury he never truly rediscovered his best form at Saints.

His progress was seriously hampered by injuries and made a £12m switch to The Hawthorns in July to give himself a fresh start at a new club.

The former Burnley man has had limited success with the Baggies, who visit St Mary’s on Saturday in the Premier League, scoring two goals in ten appearances in all competitions.

The versatile attacker has mainly been deployed out wide by Albion boss Tony Pulis and had a limited impact for the Birmingham outfit as they drew 1-1 at Leicester City on Monday night in the Premier League.

With Rodriguez now a regular starter for West Brom, it has attracted the attentions of England manager Gareth Southgate, who went to watch the stalemate at the King Power Stadium.

It is reported that Southgate has been attracted to Rodriguez because of his ability to play in all forward areas, as the Three Lions prepare to face Germany and Brazil in friendlies next month.

He ended his Saints spell as a frustrated figure, playing mainly as a striker under Claude Puel.

There were flashes of his brilliance - his brace at AFC Bournemouth back in December was a throwback to Rodriguez’s glory days under Mauricio Pochettino.

However, it was always likely he’d want to depart for pastures new in the transfer window, having come close to going to West Brom in the summer of 2016 and in January this year.

He will now come back to St Mary’s - where he spent five years, scoring 32 goals in 126 appearances, and is sure to get a warm welcome from Saints supporters, who backed him through his up and down time at the club.

The Saints faithful will, however, hope that Rodriguez, who has three goals in eight games against former clubs, won’t find form at his former stomping ground.

So far this term J-Rod has struck one Premier League goal, in a 1-1 draw against Stoke, having also got a goal in the League Cup against Accrington Stanley.

But that strike against the Potters was back in August and Rodriguez, who has no assists this term, has embarked on a run of six successive games without a goal in all competitions.