Southampton – Three Young Guns

Southampton are a club well known for their ability to bring high-quality players through their academy with Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Adam Lallana just three examples.

And that trend shows no sign of stopping with plenty of young players continuing to impress for the Saints as they finished eighth in the Premier League in May.

Here we’ve picked out three men who could be the next stars to come from the south coast and go on to big things with club and their country.

Jack Stephens

(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

The 23-year-old centre back made quite an impression in the second half of the Premier League season as he deputised for Virgil van Dijk.

Stephens has spent much of his time over the past few seasons out on loan but took his opportunity at St Mary’s and picked up the club’s Player of the Month award in May.

He has much international experience with England as well through the various age groups and was part of the Under-21 squad which won the Toulon Tournament last year.

Callum Slattery

Following in the footsteps of Stephens, Slattery too has tasted success in the Toulon Tournament with England as recently as this month.

The attacking midfielder was calm under pressure as he slotted a penalty in the final as England beat Ivory Coast 5-3 in the shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Slattery has been part of the Southampton setup since he was eight and will hope his performances in France over the summer will help him push for some first-team minutes this term.

Jake Vokins

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

The left-back was named as the Saints’ Young Player of the Year winner last month, having agreed to sign his first professional contract back in March.

Vokins has moved back from midfield in recent years and was a key part of the England team that reached the Under-17s final this summer before being beaten on penalties by Spain.

The youngster only made his international Under-17 debut in February but his first Southampton contract and a major international tournament following so soon afterwards shows the high esteem he is held in.