Losing some talented youngsters such as Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal, as well as multiple first-team players to Liverpool, Southampton finally stood up to the big boys this summer with Virgil Van Dijk.
Standing in the way of the Dutch striker and a move to Merseyside, the Saints are trying to stop their football player capital flight, as well as potentially adding some new talent to their youth sides.
One of the players they are keeping an eye on is Caen’s Elye Wahi, a 14-year-old currently making a name for himself in France’s youth leagues.
Scoring 89 goals last season, the young forward was upgraded to the club’s U17s this weekend, and scored two goals in his side’s 5-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
According to Le Parisien, a number of Premier League sides, including Southampton, Manchester United and Liverpool, have already contacted the club about the youngster, who is unable to sign for a foreign side until he is 16.
A Premier League scout interviewed by the French newspaper said Wahi reminded him of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain due to his attributes, namely his pace, power and technical ability on the ball.
We’ll have to see what happens in the youngster’s future, and Southampton seem keen to be right there when the chance to sign him arises.
However, they’ll have to see off some of the big boys along the way, perhaps with the promise of quickly making the first-team?
