Southampton are looking to rebuild this season following a disappointing campaign in the Premier League, and this is at all levels of the club.
The Saints appointed Will Still to run the senior team; however, he will be interested to see how the youth teams of Southampton are performing.
He will be keeping a close eye on the academy teams to see who they can add to their senior ranks, sooner rather than later.
Southampton recently managed to bring in a Northern Ireland starlet who had been impressing at Linfield, with Calum Anderson looking to be the next ‘Luke Shaw or Theo Walcott’.
Calum Anderson playing for Northern Ireland U-17 against the Republic of Ireland in the Victory Shield
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Due to this, Still would have been interested in the under-16 side of Southampton this week.
Southampton won the SuperCupNI for the first time
The Southampton under-16s won the SuperCupNI for the first time ever when they beat Manchester United in the final 1-0.
It was a tight affair with neither side giving an inch, but a misplaced pass from a United player was seized upon by a Southampton defender and quickly worked forward.
The ball was crossed into the box for Jude Daniels to clinically pass it into the corner of the goal to give the Saints the win, and to celebrate, he copied Wayne Rooney’s celebration that he did against Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.
It was a poignant celebration for Daniels to copy, as he was up against the son of the England legend, Kai Rooney, who was playing for Manchester United in the final, while the former Plymouth Argyle and Derby manager was in the stands watching on at the Showgrounds in Coleraine.
Pros who have played at SuperCupNI
Will Still will be encouraged by the fantastic display from the underage Southampton team, as it shows there are talented prospects for the future of the club.
The competition has seen some of the best young players compete with notable names, becoming some of the best in the world.
This includes Sergio Busquets, who featured for Barcelona at the competition in 2005; Mats Hummels, who represented Bayern Munich; and Radamel Falcao, who featured with River Plate.
Radamel Falcao and Sergio Busquets for Atletico Madrid and Barcelona
Photo credit should read DANI POZO/AFP via Getty Images
While closer-to-home names include Michael Carrick when he played for West Ham, Craig Bellamy for Norwich City, and James Milner for Leeds United.
So, this should encourage Southampton fans that a number of these players may go on to be the best in the world, and hopefully for the Saints.