Jake Hesketh is on loan at League One Burton Albion from Mark Hughes’ Southampton.
Southampton fans haven’t had much to cheer about of late, so no wonder Jake Hesketh’s outstanding individual goal against bitter South Coast rivals Portsmouth has gone down so well.
The 22-year-old is on loan at Burton Albion in League One right now and he scored his first goal for Nigel Clough’s side in their impressive 2-2 draw away at top of the table Portsmouth on Tuesday night. But that’s only half the story.
It wasn’t just the importance of the goal, which lifted Burton further away from the bottom four, but the quality which left Southampton fans open mouthed.
Picking up the ball on the edge of the box, Hesketh skipped past three Pompey defenders before firing a clinical finish into the roof of the Fratton Park net. Cult hero status is already on its way.
Time will tell whether Hesketh’s spell at Burton can kick-start his career at Southampton. The Stockport-born midfielder has made just four Premier League appearances for The Saints since arriving in the academy all the way back in 2006, after all.
And the lack of opportunities afforded to young, homegrown players has been a constant source of frustration for supporters of late with the likes of Harrison Reed and Josh Sims farmed out to Football League clubs rather than given a chance to show what they can do.
So can Hesketh follow in the footsteps of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and co?
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