Newcastle United are in critical condition at the moment, with 13 players currently sidelined through injuries and suspensions ahead of some huge games after the international break, including a colossal European bout away at French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Eddie Howe's attack has been massacred over the past few weeks, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy all out for the foreseeable future.
The Magpies don't have a recognised striker who is fit and available right now, having had to deploy Anthony Gordon down the middle at the weekend in a toothless 2-0 defeat away at Bournemouth.
The absence of both Isak and Wilson has further highlighted Newcastle's mistakes in player sales from the past, including one man who is having a fine season down in the division below.
Why Adam Armstrong left Newcastle
Adam Armstrong came through Newcastle United's academy as a youngster and rose through the ranks at Darsley Park to make his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League back in 2014.
However, after a quartet of loan spells at Coventry City, Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and finally Blackburn Rovers, the attacker was sold to the latter for just £1.7m, having never scored a single goal for his boyhood club in 21 appearances.
After a fruitful time at Ewood Park, where he bagged 64 goals and 19 assists in 160 matches for the Riversiders, Armstrong made the next big move in his career, signing for Premier League outfit Southampton for a fee in the region of £15m.
Despite the Saints being relegated last term, the 26-year-old is still banging in the goals, sitting second in the Championship charts with nine from 16 matches in the second tier.
Amid Newcastle's injury woes up top, selling Armstrong looks like a potential mistake in hindsight.
Armstrong's stats this season
In 53 appearances for Southampton in the top flight over the course of two seasons, Armstrong scored merely four league goals. This term, he has already more than doubled his previous tally and has found the net more often than both Isak and Wilson who have scored seven goals apiece.
Armstrong has also been utilised in a number of different positions this season, having played on the right wing and even in the centre of midfield at one point, registering three assists for the Saints, according to WhoScored.
Despite his impressive goalscoring form at the St. Mary's Stadium, Armstrong's manager at Southampton, Russell Martin, believes the attacker "has yet to get going" in terms of the heights he is capable of reaching.
This season, Armstrong is taking fewer shots than his Newcastle United counterparts each game, averaging 2.72 shots per 90 down in the Championship to Isak's 3.11 and Wilson's 3.53 in the Premier League to supplement just how red hot he's been in front of goal.
Furthermore, Armstrong has a worse shot-on-target percentage than Howe's two strikers with 36.6% to the Swede's 58.8% and Wilson's 63.2%. Essentially, the Southampton star is taking fewer shots and boasting fewer on target but has a better goal return than Newcastle's frontmen.
Isak and Wilson are scoring in a much more difficult division but Howe could certainly have benefitted from having someone like Armstrong in his squad amidst a plague of injury problems.
