Southampton have had difficulty keeping their best young talents at the club recently and this continued as Russell Martin saw one of his most promising youngsters sold in the final days of the transfer window.
Whilst Southampton are renowned for having a top academy, there has been a drain of talent away from the club’s academy in the past year.
19-year-old midfielder Kamari Doyle leaving for Brighton, 16-year-old Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez joining Lyon, and 15-year-old Harrison Miles departing for Manchester City are all examples of this.
James Ward-Prowse and Luke Shaw are the last two top players to come through the ranks at Southampton and that was over a decade ago, with Will Smallbone currently a first-team regular having been at the club since the age of eight.
Russell Martin does have two really exciting talents on his hands with 18-year-old pair Samuel Amo-Ameyaw and Tyler Dibling already featuring in the Premier League this season, but the academy duo did see one of their peers depart in Jayden Meghoma this summer.
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Jayden Meghoma leaves Southampton for Brentford
More recently, Southampton’s transfer strategy has been to cherrypick young talents from elite academies in England by providing a pathway to the first-team.
This has been largely successful, with the likes of Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, Gavin Bazunu and Samuel Edozie all examples of this.
Meghoma is another example of this, as Southampton beat a number of clubs to bring the left-back to the club from Tottenham Hotspur as a 16-year-old in 2022.
Martin gave Meghoma his first taste of senior football in the cup competitions last season where the left-back impressed, especially against Walsall in the FA Cup.
After his display in the 4-0 win over Walsall, Martin was full of praise for then-17-year-old Meghoma, saying: “We have some talented young players. Jayden I thought was outstanding; so, so good, so talented, so young – it’s a hard position to play in the Championship when you’re that young.
“I don’t think there are many doing that at this age. He came in today because he deserved it, and he was excellent. He’s going to be a really exciting talent for the club moving forward.”
However, Meghoma had just a year left on his deal and was linked with a move abroad given the fact he could sign a pre-contract agreement in January with an overseas side and felt he was ready for first-team football.
Brentford swooped to ensure Meghoma stayed in England, though, completing a £10 million deal in the final week of the transfer window.
Meghoma reveals reason behind swapping Southampton for Brentford
Whilst it is easy to preach patience from afar, with Kyle Walker-Peters, Charlie Taylor, Ryan Manning and Juan Larios blocking his first-team pathway it becomes easier to see why Meghoma felt a move was right for his career.
Brentford have a full-back crisis with both Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey out with long-term injuries, meaning Thomas Frank has been playing centre-backs on either side of his defence.
Therefore, Meghoma may well feel he is more likely to get opportunities at Brentford, particularly given they are unlikely to be involved in a relegation dogfight.
After signing for the Bees, Meghoma opened up on playing for Southampton’s first-team, saying: “That was an amazing feeling, playing in front of big crowds. That was an amazing feeling and experience.”
The defender went on to reveal what drew him to Brentford, adding: “It’s been an amazing feeling meeting Thomas Frank and everybody here. It’s an amazing feeling to finally be here.
“Thomas was a big factor in me coming here in the first place. He really sold the project well to me and I feel like this is a place where I can further my development, so I’m really excited to start.
“As a young player, that was one of the main factors that appealed to me and to Brentford: the style of play, the way Thomas is with young players and how he conducts himself is amazing. Just speaking to him sold it to me.
“I want to be a Premier League football player, I want to play a lot of minutes for Brentford, and ultimately be the best player I can be.”
Should Meghoma be a success under Frank at Brentford Southampton could well be left ruing what might have been