15 youngsters sign Academy scholarships
Southampton Football Club has welcomed its latest scholarship intake as 15 youngsters have signed ahead of the 2023/24 season, and will join up with the Under-18s.
The latest cohort consists of 10 players that have risen up through the Academy system and five new arrivals, who will all be looking to make their mark in the Under-18s set-up.
Two of the new additions, Abdulhalim Okonola-Matthews and Moses Sesay,have both made the switch to Saints after leaving Chelsea.
A centre-back and centre-midfielder respectively, the pair both credited attributes from Paul Pogba's game that they have modelled their playing style on.
Another new arrival is right-back Tevin Myers, who has made the move to the South Coast after leaving West Bromwich Albion.
After sealing his scholarship deal, Myers admitted his confident aspirations for the next chapter of his career.
"My aims are to play in the older age groups and I'd like to win the FA Youth Cup as well." he stated.
Tevin Myers joins Saints from West Brom (Photo: Isabelle Field)
At the other end of the pitch, left winger Sufianu Sillah Dibaga joined at the end of the Under-16s campaign from Crystal Palace - the Spanish youngster claims inspiration from the likes of Neymar and Ousmane Dembélé with his pace and skilful attributes.
Along with Okonola-Matthews, Dibaga is also a product of grassroots club Levels FC who helped the duo develop their game before choosing to sign with Southampton.
The final new addition is goalkeeper Henry Upstell, who joined the club halfway through last season in the Under-16s age group having arrived from Fulham.
He featured on the bench for the Under-18s last season towards the end of the busy campaign.
Of the 10 Academy products who have signed a familiar face is Jay Robinson, who broke into the B team and Under-18s and scored his first PL2 goal as a 15-year-old.
Now 16, Robinson has his eyes on another successful campaign after 22 appearances across higher age groups last season.
"I just want to push on with the B team and try to get more goals and assists with them," he claimed. "Hopefully I can even get some chances around the first team."
Jay Robinson celebrates his first PL2 goal last season (Photo: Isabelle Field)
Another player who featured regularly up the age groups with the Under-18s is centre-back Tommy Dobson-Ventura.
The towering defender joined the club's Southampton Development Centre at the age of eight before signing his first contract at nine-years-old and has risen through the age groups ever since.
Three other products of the Southampton Development Centre are strikers Nicholas Oyekunle and Josh Pitts, as well as central midfielder Aston Daley.
Oyekunle made 10 appearances for the Under-18s last season and scored four goals, highlighting his playing style as "direct, a good finisher with good hold-up play and I love a one-v-one."
Pitts and Daley both made their Under-18s debuts last season and will be looking to kick on again in that age group having been at the club since the Under-9s.
Nick Oyekunle made several appearances for the Under-18s last season. (Photo: Chris Moorhouse)
Hailing from two other development centres are Max Fry and Barnaby Williams who also made appearances for the Under-18s last campaign.
Fry, a centre-back, joined at nine-years-old after being scouted at the club's Bristol Development Centre at the age of seven and has three clear aims for his scholarship years.
"I want to play as much as I can, learn as much as I can, and improve as much as I can."
Meanwhile, Williams is a central midfielder who also signed at the age of nine after being scouted from the Bath Development Centre at six-years-old - he highlights the likes of Frank Lampard and Jude Bellingham as career inspirations.
Two other players that made their Under-18 debuts last term are James Martin and Ben Sheaf, an attacking midfielder and left-back respectively.
Martin has been at the club since the Under-12s whilst Sheaf joined in the Under-10s, and they will both be looking to add to their maiden U18 Premier League appearances next season.
Finally, Jayden Moore is a centre-back who has been at the club for seven years after being spotted at grassroots level.
He cited Sergio Ramos and Virgil van Dijk as two elite defenders he admired growing up, replicating their ball-playing ability and aggressive nature.
The 15-strong group of youngsters, one Saints’ biggest academy intakes in recent years, will all link up with the Under-18s in the 2023/24 season, subject to FA and EFL approval.
Main image: Stuart Martin
