Arm­strong is the club’s lead­ing scor­er and his 28 goal con­tri­bu­tions (18 goals, 11 assists) are the high­est in Eng­land’s top three divi­sions.

The 27 year old is also set to add to his fam­i­ly unit after becom­ing a father for the first time to baby boy Axel in late 2022. 

Wife and long-term part­ner Rebec­ca is expect­ing again, Adams said, as he talked about the sim­i­lar­i­ty between the pair’s path in their career.

The duo have become inte­gral to Rus­sell Mar­t­in’s side with 28 Cham­pi­onship goals between them this sea­son.

“My record is not as good as Arma but I am still try­ing to get there,” Adams told the Saints match­day pro­gramme. 

Saints for­ward Che Adams is great pals with Adam Arm­strong

“I think as a strik­er you’re always judged off goals, and to be scor­ing is always nice, but I’ve always said it through­out my time here, it’s about where the club are going to be.

“If that means me not scor­ing goals and the team are win­ning and we’re in sec­ond place or first place, I’m tak­ing that all day.”

He added: “We went on a sim­i­lar path in regards to not scor­ing as many goals as we would’ve hoped and the fans prob­a­bly expect­ed.

“Now every­one can see that hard work pays off so it’s nice to come through that moment and give back to every­one who expect­ed so much of us.

“It’s a real­ly nice feel­ing. His wife is preg­nant again as well, so l think he’s clin­i­cal on and off the pitch!”

Arm­strong is on course to become only the sec­ond Saints play­er to hit 20 league goals in a sea­son since Rick­ie Lam­bert fired the club to the Pre­mier League in 2012. 

Adam Arm­strong is three goals behind Sam­mie Szmod­ics at the top of the Cham­pi­onship scor­ers charts (Image: PA)

Dan­ny Ings buried 22 in the 2019–20 sea­son before Arm­strong inher­it­ed his num­ber nine shirt fol­low­ing a move from Black­burn Rovers a year lat­er. 

Adams insists the 27 year old’s form — after he scored 28 in his last Cham­pi­onship sea­son — is not a sur­prise to any­one at Saints.

“Arma’s had an amaz­ing sea­son this year and there are still so many games to play,” he enthus­es.

“Also, his assists as well. That’s what stands out because, as a for­ward, you don’t real­ly see that many assists.

“This year it’s been good because we’ve played togeth­er more fre­quent­ly than times before.

“I’ve always enjoyed play­ing with him because he’s so fast, so any ball in behind that I play for his fin­ish­ing in train­ing is amaz­ing.

“It’s no sur­prise to every­one at the club that he’s scor­ing this many goals. It’s always a plea­sure to play with him.”