Saints’ McQueen keen to emulate Bale and Shaw

Southampton starlet Sam McQueen has watched some of the Premier League’s best left-backs come through St Mary’s and now he is determined to follow in their footsteps.

With the one-time full-back Gareth Bale and Luke Shaw moving to pastures new, Ryan Bertrand has made the position his own over the past year, playing 33 Premier League games while also featuring for England in Euro 2016.

But McQueen is determined to push Bertrand and Matt Targett for their places in the first-team – despite the position being a new-found venture for the 19-year-old.

And having operated on the wing on loan at Southend last term, McQueen is relishing a chance to show new manager Claude Puel exactly what he is capable of, taking tips off the current incumbents as he goes along.

Ryan Bertrand has made the left-back position his own at St Mary’s (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

“I’m not really too sure how it came about, Ryan was still away with England so there was a gap to fill over the summer and I was happy just to be with the first-team and trying to show what I can do,” he said.

“I’ve worked hard at it, trying to take notes off Matt and I’ve been watching Ryan as much as possible. It’s been working well for me and it’s been coming quite naturally for me.

“Being here for many years, I’ve been able to see a lot of left-backs, particularly when Luke was here before, so I’ve had a lot of good people ahead of me.

“It’s something which has been working well, I did it when I was nine or ten anyway, and I always want to improve. It’s a new challenge, so why not go for it? I’ve been enjoying it and it’s been going well so why not carry it on?”