50.888°N -1.4605°WSouthampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy or Saints U21s and Academy is the youth organisation run by Southampton F.C. to encourage and develop young footballers in the south of England. Renowned players including Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and Alan Shearer began their careers at this academy.
The team is made up of under-21 and academy players, is effectively Southampton's second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012–13 season.[1] They play in Premier League 2, Division 2. The team also competes in the EFL Trophy, Premier League International Cup, Premier League Cup and the Hampshire Senior Cup. The under-18 players among other younger age groups make up the Academy team and play in the Premier League U18 First Division, South, Premier League U18 Cup and the FA Youth Cup.
Home fixtures are contested at A.F.C. Totton's Testwood Stadium with some fixtures being held at St. Mary's. Some games are played at the club's training facilities at Staplewood in Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton if required. Since July 2024, the Under 21s have been managed by Simon Rusk while since September 2023, the Under 18s have been managed by Calum MacFarlane.
Amongst the players who passed through the Saints Academy and went on to represent their country since the turn of the Millennium are:
Richard Bakary
Bartosz Białkowski
Yoann Folly
Scott McDonald
Bevis Mugabi
Jamal Musiala
Tim Sparv
Nathan Tella
Jake Thomson
Yan Valery
Stuart WilkinIn the past, prior to the establishment of the academy, the Southampton youth system has produced other international players, including Terry Paine, Martin Chivers, Steve Williams, Mick Channon, Matthew Le Tissier, Kevin Phillips, Alan Shearer and Dennis Wise.
Four former Saints academy players featured in the England Under-21 match against Montenegro on 7 September 2007: Martin Cranie and Theo Walcott both started (with Walcott setting up the second goal) whilst Dexter Blackstock and Andrew Surman came on as second-half substitutes, with Surman scoring the final goal in a 3–0 victory, tapping the ball home in stoppage time from a knock-down by Blackstock.[2] [3]
In England's international friendly against Denmark on 5 March 2014, three graduates of the Southampton F.C. Academy appeared as second-half substitutes: Luke Shaw (making his debut), Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Andy Goldie is the current Academy Director, having joined the club from Swansea City in July 2023. The current academy set up has teams at all age groups from Under 8s all the way through to the professional U21 team, employing large number of coaches and educational staff. Academy players from the age of 16 up until the age of 18 are often looked after by Host Families within the local area.
The aim of the Southampton academy is to "...produce Premiership class players..."[4]
Southampton has regularly reached the latter stages of the FA Youth Cup, as well as being successful in the FA Premier Academy League championship. In the 2010–2011 season the U18s were only just "...Pipped to the Title..." by one point on the last day of the season of the Group A league. Southampton had to win and Fulham had to draw or lose for Southampton to come top. After winning 1–3 away to Coventry City the U18s were dismayed to discover Fulham had come back from being 0–3 down versus Leicester City to win 5–3.
The academy has joined up with local college Sparsholt College to try to give those footballers who have missed out on a scholarship the opportunity to remain in the game and train and play matches with the Southampton Academy.[5]
In May 2013, Andre Villas-Boas, manager of Tottenham Hotspur praised the Southampton Academy for its ability to produce star players, describing it as "a great school of development" and comparing it to the Sporting Lisbon's youth academy in Portugal.[6]
In April 2015, a Southampton U21 side won the U21 Premier League Cup, defeating a Blackburn Rovers U21 side in the two-legged final at St Mary's Stadium in front of more than 12,000 fans. Goals from Ryan Seager and Sam Gallagher cancelled out a Matt Targett own goal to give Southampton a 2–1 victory after extra time to win the second edition of the cup.[7]
In September 2020, Southampton revamped their Under-23s programme to 'enhance the pathway into the first team for its younger players.' A 'structure and philosophical overhaul' saw the Under-23s side become a B team. The new B team will mirror the training programmes, coaching and style of play of the first team. Training and fixtures, where possible, will also be organised so it does not clash with the first team so the first team manager and coaches can watch the side train or play and also take part in coaching sessions. The side will still continue to participate in the same competitions as before the revamp.[8]
Under new club Director of Football Matt Crocker, individual player coaches have been brought-in to try and improve players coming through the academy. Lee Skyrme was appointed B team individual player coach in 2021, while Mikey Harris was appointed in the same role for the U18s in the same year.[9] Harris was replaced in 2022 by Pete Haynes, with Harris having been promoted to U18 head coach.[10]
| Clubname: | Southampton Under-21 team |
| Upright: | 0.85 |
| Fullname: | Southampton Football Club Under-21 team |
| Nickname: | The Saints |
| Ground: | Testwood Stadium, Totton, Southampton |
| Manager: | Simon Rusk (Under-21 team) |
| League: | Premier League 2 |
| Season: | 2023–24 |
| Position: | Premier League 2, 17th |
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| Website: | http://www.southamptonfc.com/ |
Players (excluding scholars) who will qualify as Under-21 team players in season 2024–25 (i.e. born on or after 1 January 2004) and who are outside the first team squad.[11]
| Clubname: | Southampton Under-18s |
| Upright: | 0.85 |
| Fullname: | Southampton Football Club (Under-18s) |
| Nickname: | The Saints |
| Ground: | Staplewood Campus, Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton |
| Manager: | Calum MacFarlane (Under-18s) |
| League: | Premier U18 First Division, South |
| Season: | 2023–24 |
| Position: | Premier U18 First Division, South, 10th |
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| Website: | http://www.southamptonfc.com/ |
A number of players from the Southampton F.C. Academy have gone on to have careers in professional football, whether at Southampton or at other clubs. The following is a list of players who have made their Southampton first-team debuts since the turn of the millennium. Players who have represented Southampton in only the EFL Trophy are not included in this list. Academy graduates who still play for Southampton, including those that are currently out on loan to other clubs, are highlighted in green. Where players have made their debut in the same fixture, they are sorted alphabetically by surname.
| width=10% | Player | width=5% | Position | width=7.5% | Southampton appearances | width=7.5% | Southampton goals | width=13.5% | Current club | width=12.5% | Born | width=14% | International honours | width=20% | Debut | width=10% | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | 1 | 0 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Mansfield Town, League Cup, 26 September 2000 | Glenn Hoddle | ||||||||||||
| FW | 3 | 0 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, League Cup, 11 September 2001 | Stuart Gray | ||||||||||||
| DF | 79 | 3 | Retired | Age 21 vs. Aston Villa, Premier League, 22 March 2003 | Gordon Strachan | ||||||||||||
| FW | 73 | 26 | Retired | Age 30 vs. Leicester City, Premier League, 16 August 2003 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 8 | 2 | Retired | Age 19 vs. Blackburn Rovers, Premier League, 25 October 2003 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 18 | 0 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, 27 March 2004 | Paul Sturrock | ||||||||||||
| DF | 25 | 0 | Retired | Age 17 vs. Chelsea, Premier League, 1 May 2004 | |||||||||||||
| GK | 4 | 0 | Retired | Age 22 vs. Newcastle United, Premier League, 12 May 2004 | |||||||||||||
| FW | 17 | 4 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Newcastle United, Premier League, 19 September 2004 | Steve Wigley | ||||||||||||
| FW | 36 | 9 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Everton, Premier League, 16 October 2004 | |||||||||||||
| MF/FW | 82 | 10 | Retired | Age 16 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Football League Championship, 6 August 2005 | Harry Redknapp | ||||||||||||
| DF/MF | 12 | 1 | Retired | Age 38 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Football League Championship, 6 August 2005 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 66 | 3 | Retired | Age 17 vs. Southend United, League Cup, 22 August 2005 | |||||||||||||
| FW | 75 | 15 | Age 17 vs. Mansfield Town, Carling Cup, 20 September 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 6 | 0 | Retired | Age 19 vs. Watford, Football League Championship, 26 December 2005 | Dave Bassett &<br/> Dennis Wise | ||||||||||||
| GK | 42 | 0 | Age 18 vs. Crystal Palace, Football League Championship, 25 January 2006 | George Burley | |||||||||||||
| MF | 146 | 18 | Retired | Age 19 vs. Crystal Palace, Football League Championship, 25 January 2006 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 39 | 0 | Retired | Age 20 vs. Leicester City, FA Cup, 28 January 2006 | |||||||||||||
| DF/MF | 45 | 5 | Retired | Age 16 vs. Millwall, Football League Championship, 17 April 2006 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 265 | 60 | Age 18 vs. Yeovil Town, League Cup, 23 August 2006 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 1 | 0 | Retired | Age 20 vs. Ipswich Town, Football League Championship, 1 March 2008 | Nigel Pearson | ||||||||||||
| GK | 4 | 0 | Retired | Age 22 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Football League Championship, 4 March 2008 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 85 | 2 | Age 20 vs. Cardiff City, Football League Championship, 9 August 2008 | Jan Poortvliet | |||||||||||||
| MF | 16 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Cardiff City, Football League Championship, 9 August 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 3 | 0 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Derby County, Football League Championship, 23 August 2008 | |||||||||||||
| DF | 36 | 0 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Birmingham City, Carling Cup, 26 August 2008 | |||||||||||||
| DF | 17 | 0 | Retired | Age 19 vs. Queens Park Rangers, Football League Championship, 14 September 2008 | |||||||||||||
| FW | 22 | 2 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Norwich City, Football League Championship, 30 September 2008 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 25 | 2 | Age 17 vs. Preston North End, Football League Championship, 1 November 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 8 | 1 | Age 18 vs. Plymouth Argyle, Football League Championship, 26 December 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 42 | 10 | Age 16 vs. Huddersfield Town, Football League One, 2 March 2010 | Alan Pardew | |||||||||||||
| MF | 1 | 0 | Age 17 vs. Carlisle United, Football League One, 24 April 2010 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 29 | 2 | Retired | Age 20 vs. Gillingham, Football League One, 1 May 2010 | |||||||||||||
| FW | 5 | 0 | Age 18 vs. Swindon Town, League Cup, 30 August 2011 | Dean Wilkins | |||||||||||||
| DF/MF | 13 | 1 | Age 19 vs. Preston North End, League Cup, 21 September 2011 | Nigel Adkins | |||||||||||||
| MF | 410 | 55 | Age 16 vs. Crystal Palace, League Cup, 25 October 2011 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 1 | 0 | Retired | Age 20 vs. Coventry City, FA Cup, 7 January 2012 | |||||||||||||
| DF | 182 | 6 | Age 17 vs. Coventry City, FA Cup, 7 January 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 67 | 0 | Age 16 vs. Millwall, FA Cup, 28 January 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 25 | 0 | Age 17 vs. Stevenage, League Cup, 28 August 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 1 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Sheffield Wednesday, League Cup, 25 September 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 8 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Leeds United, League Cup, 30 October 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 30 | 0 | Age 18 vs. Barnsley, League Cup, 27 August 2013 | Mauricio Pochettino | |||||||||||||
| MF | 2 | 0 | Age 18 vs. Barnsley, League Cup, 27 August 2013 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 1 | 0 | Retired | Age 18 vs. Barnsley, League Cup, 27 August 2013 | |||||||||||||
| FW | 26 | 2 | Age 18 vs. Sunderland, League Cup, 6 November 2013 | ||||||||||||||
| DF/MF | 29 | 0 | Retired | Age 19 vs. Sunderland, FA Cup, 15 February 2014 | |||||||||||||
| DF | 63 | 1 | Age 18 vs. Millwall, League Cup, 26 August 2014 | Ronald Koeman | |||||||||||||
| MF | 4 | 1 | Age 18 vs. Manchester United, Premier League, 8 December 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 1 | 0 | Age 20 vs. Everton, Premier League, 20 December 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 1 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Crystal Palace, Premier League, 26 December 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 2 | 0 | England U20 call-up | Age 18 vs. Crystal Palace, FA Cup, 24 January 2015 | |||||||||||||
| FW | 1 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Sunderland, EFL Cup, 26 October 2016 | Claude Puel | |||||||||||||
| MF/FW | 27 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Everton, Premier League, 27 November 2016 | ||||||||||||||
| GK | 3 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Norwich City, FA Cup, 7 January 2017 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 39 | 5 | Age 17 vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, 21 January 2018 | Mauricio Pellegrino | |||||||||||||
| FW | 100 | 46 | Age 26 vs. Burnley, Premier League, 12 August 2018 | Mark Hughes | |||||||||||||
| DF | 53 | 2 | Age 19 vs. Leicester City, League Cup, 27 November 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 3 | 0 | Age 20 vs. Arsenal, Premier League, 16 December 2018 | Ralph Hasenhüttl | |||||||||||||
| DF | 4 | 0 | Age 18 vs. Manchester City, Premier League, 30 December 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 1 | 0 | Retired | Age 22 vs. Derby County, FA Cup, 5 January 2019 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 5 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Derby County, FA Cup, 5 January 2019 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 5 | 1 | Age 19 vs. Manchester City, League Cup, 29 October 2019 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 71 | 8 | Age 19 vs. Huddersfield Town, FA Cup, 4 January 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| MF/FW | 44 | 3 | Age 20 vs. Norwich City, Premier League, 19 June 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 16 | 1 |  | Age 21 vs. Everton, Premier League, 25 October 2020 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 1 | 0 | Age 18 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 1 | 0 | Age 17 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 3 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 4 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Shrewsbury Town, FA Cup, 19 January 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 1 | 0 | Age 19 vs. Manchester United, Premier League, 2 February 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| DF | 1 | 0 | Age 17 vs. Coventry City, FA Cup, 5 February 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| FW | 4 | 1 | Southampton (on loan at Blackpool) | Age 17 vs. Cambridge United, EFL Cup, 23 August 2022 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 1 | 0 | England U15 call-up | Age 18 vs. Cambridge United, EFL Cup, 23 August 2022 | |||||||||||||
| DF | 1 | 0 | Southampton (on loan at Cheltenham Town) | Age 18 vs. Cambridge United, EFL Cup, 23 August 2022 | |||||||||||||
| MF | 2 | 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion (on loan at Exeter City) | Age 17 vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, Premier League, 21 May 2023 | Rubén Sellés | ||||||||||||
| MF | 9 | 0 | Age 16 vs. Liverpool, Premier League, 28 May 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 6 | 0 | Age 17 vs. Gillingham, EFL Cup, 8 August 2023 | Russell Martin | |||||||||||||
| DF | 4 | 0 | Age 17 vs. Gillingham, EFL Cup, 8 August 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| MF | 2 | 0 | Southampton (on loan at Crawley Town) | Age 18 vs. Walsall, FA Cup, 6 January 2024 |
