Southampton full-back Yan Valery has spoken highly of the Saints academy setup, describing it as a feeling of having “gone into the future” the first time he arrived at Staplewood (RMC Sport as quoted by the Daily Echo).
The 20-year-old joined the Saints from French club Stade Rennais in 2015 and rose through the ranks of the Premier League outfit before being handed his debut last season under Mark Hughes.
Following the Welshman’s departure from St Mary’s Stadium, Ralph Hasenhuttl continued to give Valery game time, and clocked up 23 Premier League appearances in 2018-19, while this term he’s currently on five, not to mention having penned a new contract back in March.
Valery is just one of several Southampton academy graduates to have broken through over the past year or so, with Callum Slattery, Michael Obafemi Tyreke Johnson, Kayne Ramsay and Marcus Barnes also featuring for the first team – testament to a thriving and successful system.
Speaking about what he first noticed at Staplewood, Valery told RMC Sport, as quoted by the Daily Echo: “The infrastructures. You had a feeling you’d gone into the future. You can immediately tell the difference. The grass is really nice. There’s, like, 15 pitches at the training centre.
“Even the way of working is completely different. You arrive, they give you an iPad. You can watch your training. There’s everything to develop. After a game, you get an analysis on how you did. All the training. All the stats. You’ve got everything to work with and if you give everything, you’ve got no excuses. You can only progress.”
The Saints are well known for having had plenty of talented players come through the ranks over the years – Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana to name but a few this century alone.
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