Following the successes on the pitch since Ralph Hasenhuttl’s arrival at Southampton, the club have relied on youngsters for depth and energy.
The 2018/19 campaign saw a number of players feature who were on their first professional contracts for Southampton, these names include the likes of Michael Obafemi, Kanye Ramsay, Callum Slattery, Tyreke Johnson and most notably Yan Valery – who was on an extended contract, went on to win ‘Saints Young Player of the Season’.
We had been tipped the Frenchman to make the fringes of the first-team behind team-mate Cedric Soares as a back-up, however following the loan departure of the mentioned Soares; Valery was given his chance and the club currently haven’t looked back and therefore he is outdoing our prediction on his chances.
Unfortunately not all youth prospects make the impact that they are touted to make. For instance it was also thought that Josh Sims and Jake Hesketh could play a big part in Southampton’s plans last campaign and where later loaned out on a six-month-long loans respectively; however the former, Sims was used on his return by Hasenhuttl in selected games.
The upcoming campaign now poses the same question as to who will arrive on the scene for Southampton from their ranks and become an essential part within the first team; names that have done this in recent past being the already mentioned Yan Valery, and furthermore Luke Shaw and Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain.
We have chosen three players who could make the leap this campaign and broken them down into three different selections being; expected, potential and wildcard. To make this more interesting as well, each player will be under the age of 21 and have less than ten first team appearances for Southampton.
With that being said, let’s get onto our expected choice.