Although Southampton haven't started the new season on a high note, some of their young talents have made impressive progress in the previous two months. While promising stars such as Tyler Dibling, Mateus Fernandes and Cameron Archer have become regular starters under manager Russell Martin at Southampton, a number of on-loan stars are showcasing their huge potential at other clubs.
Two such on-loan stars who are thriving during their loan move are Anderlecht winger Samuel Edozie and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Shea Charles. Both of them have previously played for Manchester City's youth academy, and the latter is quickly becoming a regular starter for his national team as well. At the age of 20, Shea Charles has already made 21 appearances for Northern Ireland and recently, gave another impressive display in the UEFA Nations League.
20-year-old star continues brilliant form in all-round Nations League performance
Carrying his brilliant form from the previous international break, Charles put another all-round display for Michael O'Neill's side as they took a massive 5-0 win over Bulgaria. Playing as a box-to-box midfielder, Charles often advanced forward inside the final third and laid multiple key passes for the forwards. The 20-year-old also took a few attempts on goal, and while he didn't score, Charles registered an assist on the fourth goal as striker Isaac Price bagged his hat-trick.
Charles displayed his athleticism and dribbling as he found plenty of spaces behind the Bulgaria defence, to create more goalscoring opportunities for Northern Ireland. After the match, The Belfast Telegraph praised Charles for his overall performance, saying,
"Some silky skills and attacked with purpose. Didn’t get on the scoresheet but was majestic in the middle. Glided past players with ease."The Belfast Telegraph
Last week, Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl applauded the on-loan Southampton star and suggested that the Saints might consider re-calling Charles from his loan move in January itself. Moreover, Southampton's midfield currently needs a calm and composed midfielder such as Charles, and now it remains to be seen whether the Saints will decide to bring Charles to their first-team squad in the January transfer window.