Southampton have confirmed the signing of former Everton youngster Thierry Small.
The club announced on their official website that the 17-year-old left-back had joined the club after Small cancelled his scholarship with Everton.
As reported by the Daily Mail, plenty of clubs around the Premier League and Europe were keen on the youngster. Arsenal, Bayern and Juventus were all eager to sign Small, but the Saints have won the race.
The teenager is expected to immediately join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first-team squad. According to the Athletic, Small denied the chance to stay with Everton as he wanted to play senior football this season.
Indeed, Small becomes the second teenage fullback Ralph Hasenhuttl has signed this summer. Tino Livromaneto joined from Chelsea with the England youth international starting the first two games of the season.
The Saints have a proud history of developing young players. And Small appears to be yet another name who could flourish at Southampton should he be allowed regular minutes in the first-team.
And on social media, Saints fans are buzzing that the Solihull-born defender chose to sign for Southampton rather than the likes of Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Here’s what some Southampton fans had to say about Small being confirmed by the club on Twitter…
https://twitter.com/sainthudson/status/1430108833666502656
https://twitter.com/Chi_Saintsfan/status/1430114950605910060
https://twitter.com/artetactician/status/1430107908419854336
https://twitter.com/westy1988/status/1430110277782102016
https://twitter.com/bfgfox/status/1430127089387294733
https://twitter.com/kilojay/status/1430117384392749065
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