Southampton have beaten Rangers and Crystal Palace to the signing of highly-rated Queens Park left-back Harris Afzal, the club confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
Southampton, Rangers and Crystal Palace had all been strongly linked with the exciting 16-year-old in recent weeks, but the teenager has opted to make the move to St Mary's.
Saints are absolutely flying on the pitch, with automatic promotion still a possibility for Tonda Eckert and his men after winning 15 of their last 18 matches in all competitions.
The south coast outfit could move up to joint-second in the table if they beat Swansea City and Millwall fail to win against Queens Park Rangers, with second-placed Ipswich Town hosting fifth-placed Middlesbrough on Sunday.
As well as their surge up the Championship table, Southampton also have an FA Cup semi-final tie against Manchester City at Wembley to look forward to a week on Saturday, where they will be hoping to follow up their win against Arsenal with another shock victory.
Southampton Sign Harris Afzal
Tonda Eckert
TEAMtalk reported earlier this month that Afzal had travelled to London for talks with Crystal Palace, as the south London outfit looked to hijack an agreed deal with Southampton.
Rangers were also keen on the 16-year-old, but as he confirmed after his move to Southampton, he was keen to secure a move to England.
Afzal said: "I'm really excited. It's something that I've always wanted, to get a move to England, so it's good that the hard work's paying off now.
"When I came down I thought it was a really good atmosphere, I liked all the lads and the coaches and I thought it was a really good set-up. I feel like that's where I can see myself progressing."
While Afzal hasn't made a first-team appearance for Queens Park, he has featured on the substitutes' bench in the league and against Rangers at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup.
Southampton Confirm Afzal Plans
Southampton sporting director Johannes Spors
After joining from the Scottish Championship club, Saints confirmed that the youngster will initially link up with Andrew Surman's Under-18s side when he officially arrives at St Mary's at the end of the season.
Speaking on Afzal after the transfer coup for Saints, Director of Group Talent Strategy, Andy Goldie, said:
"Harris has consistently demonstrated a number of qualities that we believe will enhance our Under-18s squad next season, and also provide him with a platform to continue his development when he joins us in the summer.
"His trajectory in recent seasons has been impressive at Queens Park as he's featured around their First Team squad and subsequently attracted a lot of interest, so we're excited to welcome him and support his continued progress at Staplewood."