- Southampton FC is known for producing homegrown talent and many players who started their careers at the club have had successful careers in England and Europe.
- Several notable players have left Southampton’s academy and gone on to flourish elsewhere, including Tyrone Mings, Ben White, and Harrison Reed.
- Jamal Musiala, though only at Southampton’s academy for a short time, has achieved great success with Bayern Munich and is considered a wonderkid in German football.
- Southampton FC are one of English football’s leading lights when it comes to overseeing the production of homegrown talent.reers both in England and EuropIn Saint’s current squad, Will Smallbone, who has been at the club since 2008 when he was just 8 years old, and has so far made 23 appearances for the senior team is the main man flying the flag for the club’s academy
Let’s take a look at some more of Saints’ highly reputable production line, and whether in hindsight the club regret the departures of these names who have flourished elsewhere.You only have to look at the multitude of players from across the years who have started their careers on the South Coast and have gone on to have stellar ca
- e.
- Beginning the list is current Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings, who left Southampton’s academy in 2009 amid the slashing of budget cuts following relegation to League One.After a handful of years on the local non-league scene, the centre-back eventually got his lucky break in professional football with Ipswich Town, with his standout season coming in 2014/15 as the Tractor Boys reached the play-offs. After returning to the South Coast with Bournemouth, Mings’ gametime with the Cherries was limited via injuries and a suspension following an infamous incident with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.Now at Aston Villa, the experienced centre-half has been a key figure in the club’s rise from Championship mediocrity to the UEFA Conference League in just 4 years, but is currently undergoing rehab after suffering a serious injury on this season’s opening day.
Mings has also gone on to represent England 18 times, scoring twice.
- Ben White
- The current first-choice right-back for Mikel Arteta at Arsenal was released by Southampton at just 16 in 2014, eventually joining BrightonFollowing loan spells at Newport and Peterborough, White got his big breakthrough in another season away from the AMEX, with Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United that won the Championship in 19/20, and the defender was named the club’s Young Player of the Season and named in the Championship Team of the Season.After impressing under Graham Potter the following campaign, winning Brighton’s Player of the Season award, White would move to North London for £50m, and has since been a staple in the side which has gone on to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title, featuring 88 times so far for the Gunners.
- Harrison Reed
- Reed has proven his capabilities as a high-end Championship and steady Premier League performer over the years, and would be handy in Southampton’s current side if he was still at the club.Reed departed for Fulham in the summer of 2020 for £6m after an initial loan in which he has won promotion twice. Mainly utilised as a squad player back in his Saints days, the 28-year-old would almost certainly be a first-team regular now following the departure of James Ward-Prowse.This is easy to say in hindsight as his career as Fulham and Southampton’s spirals have crossed over the past two years, but perhaps this is one move the club regret sanctioning.
- Jamal Musiala
- Whilst only at Southampton’s Academy for one season over a decade ago, between 2010 and 2011, this is a significant case of what might have been had the club kept hold of Musiala for the remainder of his development, subsequently joining Chelsea and Bayern Munich.In 2020, he would become the Bavarian’s youngest goal scorer at the age of 17 years and 235 days in an 8-0 victory over Schalke, as well as the youngest English/German to score in the Champions League, doing so against Lazio, this is prior to even signing his first professional contract, doing so in 2021 on a five-year deal.He has since scored two title-clinching winners for Bayern, one against rivals Borussia Dortmund in a 3-1 win in 2022, before an 89th minute winner on the final day of last season against Cologne, handing his side their 11th straight Bundesliga on goal difference.
Musiala would end last season as Bayern’s second-highest scorer with 12, and was among the nominees for the 2023 Golden Boy award, which SportsLens reported he was top of the index for in July, with a score of 98.3%.
The wonderkid has also represented Germany 23 times, after switching his allegiances from representing England at Youth level.
