Southampton have a great history when it comes to developing young players but they may have let a gem go in Milton Keynes star Scott Twine.
You look through Southampton’s history and they have produced some outstanding players.
Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott spring to mind, as do Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and current Saints star James Ward-Prowse.
There will always be a few players who slip through the Southampton net though.
Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings was released by Southampton, for example. The Saints also released now-Arsenal star Ben White at just 16.
A little lower down the football pyramid is Scott Twine, who was released by Southampton in 2013 at the age of just 14.
The playmaker headed to his hometown club Swindon Town and has been on a path to stardom since.
Loan spells with Chippenham Town and Waterford helped Twine’s development, as did heading to Newport County in 2020.
With 14 goals for Newport and Swindon last season, Twine earned a move to Milton Keynes Dons.
The 22-year-old has hit 20 goals and 13 assists for MK Dons this season, dazzling fans with his ability to score from long range.
On Saturday, Twine hit four goals in a stunning 5-0 win over Plymouth Argyle. It wasn’t enough to take MK Dons up automatically, but they are a dangerous team in the League One playoffs.
Twine earned huge praise from Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson on Gillette Soccer Saturday.
“What a talent this kid looks!” remarked Merson, blown away by Twine’s ability from dead-ball situations.
MK Dons will be hoping to see Twine fire them to promotion but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Premier League teams target him.
Southampton may well be one of them, maybe realising that Twine has become a far better player than they imagined.
You can be sure that Southampton would love a player like Twine now, with a huge future seemingly ahead of the goalscoring playmaker.
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