Finn Azaz, who arrived at St Mary’s from Middlesbrough for an initial £12million last summer, has seven league goals and five assists this term.
The 25 year old Republic of Ireland ace has hit double figures in goals and assists in each of the last two Championship seasons at his former clubs.
Azaz brilliantly set up Scienza for the opener against Portsmouth on Sunday, and Adam Armstrong should have finished another chance he laid on.
But, having gone eight games without a formal goal contribution before the south coast derby, Azaz divides opinion among some of the Saints fanbase.
Eckert insisted: “I think that Finn is one of the best creators of the league. He’s only 25, so there are things that he still needs to add to his game.
Tonda Eckert believes Finn Azaz has improved this season (Image: PA)
“I think that’s true for every single player, but I think that his adaptation, especially in the work against the ball, has been excellent this season.
“If I were to be a striker, I would love to have him behind me because he sends you through on goal at least once or twice every single game.
“I think he’s done this consistently over the last few games. Sometimes it is just what it is, you have a period where you don’t put the chances away.
“We have struggled with that over the last weeks, but I remember at least one moment from every single game where he puts us through on goal.
“I think he’s a fantastic player for this club, and if he had seven assists over the last four or five weeks, I think the opinion would be very different.
“My job is to see a bit beyond that. Sometimes you provide something and the end product is not what we wanted, but you still provided.
“You always have to have a baseline in the way you fight and defend, and he has lifted the baseline here and quite clearly shows how engaged he is.
“He’s desperate to do everything for the club to move in the right direction.”
From a technical perspective, Azaz often takes only one touch before looking up and scanning his options for a forward pass, where others take multiple.
His biggest criticism is that sometimes the areas of the pitch in which he does this can leave Saints exposed to a counter if an attempt is not completed.
But the underlying data looks favourably on Azaz, who is his side’s top player for deep completions – passes into the final 20 meters of the pitch.
Only five Championship attackers average more ‘progressive passes’ per match than Azaz, and only five players have a better ‘smart passes’ statistic.
Finn Azaz set up Leo Scienza’s opening goal at Portsmouth (Image: Stuart Martin)
A progressive pass is defined as a forward ball that significantly advances an attack, while a smart pass is one that penetrates the opposition’s defence.
Eckert believes these traits, with a bit of refining and coaching, can make Azaz successful in the Premier League – where is yet to make an appearance.
“I think he can be,” said Eckert. “There are some things for every player that we need to make sure that there are bits and pieces to add to the game.
“He is very quick to find the striker, which is good for many situations. I think there are moments where we can stay on the ball for a little bit longer.
“I think that comes over games that you play together with your teammates, seeing who is quick, wanting to receive, who might need one touch more.
“It’s normal that there is some progression to do, and that’s our job. We have staff to help him progress. From the physical side, he’s improving.
“I think that becomes very obvious when you watch the last games. Yes, I’m very sure that he has the potential to play in the Premier League.”