Southampton boss Ronald Koeman admits Graziano Pelle has exceeded expectations.
The striker signed for Saints in the summer from Feyenoord.
"When I took him to Feyenoord, I did not expect him to do so well," Koeman said. "But I always thought he was a good player.
"When Rickie Lambert left we needed a striker. I then proposed Pellè.
"In the Netherlands, he was physically too strong for any defender over there.
"Now you see that every defender here (in England) needs to be top quality to beat him."
