da imperador bet: Southampton is a club with great tradition, churning out talented players like Matt Le Tissier, James Beattie, Kevin Phillips and Alan Shearer over the years.
da esoccer bet: The most notable player to come out of the Southampton academy in recent years was Theo Walcott. Walcott scored four goals 21 games in his first season in the Saints first team, leading to not only an England call-up, but a move to Arsenal.
Upon his debut for Arsenal in January 2006, he set up a goal for Gilberto Silva, signifying the beginning of a new era, both for English football and Southampton. Walcott was the first of many talented youngsters to come through the Saints system, which not only made new future England players, but helped keep Southampton afloat eventually get promoted back to the Premier League.
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The next Saints star that came through was Gareth Bale, who made his Saints debut in 2006, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 for £5m.
Bale is arguably the biggest name to come out of the Saints academy, though his life started a lot harder than the other signings. Bale struggled for consistency during his early days at Tottenham, yet his pinnacle season came in 2010/2011, in which he scored his first senior hat-trick for Spurs against Inter Milan in the Champions League, and also won the PFA Player of the Year award.
Bale quickly became a fan favourite at Tottenham and eventually earned himself a world record move to Real Madrid, in a deal worth a reported £85. Though he struggled for consistency at Madrid, he did win the Champions League in his first season, scoring the second goal to put Real ahead in the final.
In 2011 Southampton saw another raw talent come through the ranks, only for Arsenal to come calling once again. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Arsenal for £12million, and has since become another fan favourite at the Emirates. Like Walcott, he settled into London life well, and quickly showed what an exciting talent he has become.
Injuries have plagued his progress, but he is a prominent feature in the England side, and a real player to look out for in the future.
Other players that have made the step up have been Adam Lallana, who helped the Saints climb from League One back to the Premier League, before joining Liverpool in 2014 for £25million. At Liverpool he has been in and out of the team.
Luke Shaw is another one that came through the Saints academy until he moved to Manchester United in 2014 for £30million, and he has gone on to establish himself not only as Manchester United’s left back, but England’s too.
Chambers is another player who has moved to Arsenal, showing that Southampton are still churning out great players to good teams.
So just how integral are Saints to English football? Well, when you consider their academy and coaching techniques, and the players that have come through and who are still coming through, it is obvious that for English football to continue to thrive, other clubs should perhaps follow Southampton’s style.
They are continuing to churn out talent, with many questioning how long it will be before players like Ward-Prowse will be sold, illustrating that this is a club that does create some of the best players in the country.
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