"The best that I've seen" - Exciting wonderkid tipped for Southampton FC breakthrough | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton entered a new era at the club under Russell Martin, and are currently in the race for promotion in their first Championship campaign in over a decade.

They finished bottom of the Premier League during the 2022/23 campaign and are hoping to make an immediate return to the top-flight for next season.

There have been a number of changes behind the scenes this summer, including a managerial switch at St. Mary's, with Ruben Selles departing and Southampton filling the vacated position with Martin.

In terms of departures, Martin's side have had to deal with high-profile names moving on, with key players leaving including the likes of Mohamed Salisu, Tino Livramento, Romeo Lavia, Nathan Tella, Armel Bella-Kotchap, and club captain James Ward-Prowse.

To offset some of those losses, Martin has reunited with Ryan Manning, who arrived on a free transfer from Swansea. Shea Charles also joined the club from Manchester City in a big-money move, whilst Taylor Harwood-Bellis also came on loan from the same club.

Flynn Downes, Ryan Fraser, and David Brooks have also moved on loan from the Premier League. It left him with a squad that should be aiming for promotion. However, with very few games left during the run-in, it appears that the gap to the sides above them may now be too much to overcome, after an unfortunate last-minute defeat to Ipswich.

However, whilst they operated well in the market and still hope to return to the Premier League, be that through the play-offs or automatically, the future is bright for Southampton.

There are a number of young players on their books who have come through their academy set-up, who would have been hoping for more chances this season in the Championship than they were able to get in the top-flight.

Southampton's next young star

Famously, Southampton have tended to afford their young players opportunities, and have plenty of players who have come through their ranks and thrived, including the likes of Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, and James Ward-Prowse in recent years alone.

The squad has a somewhat youthful feel to it this season and players like Charles, Samuel Edozie, and Gavin Bazunu all heavily involved this season, but the question remains over who will be the next to break through and start to fulfill their potential at St. Mary's.

FLW's Southampton fan pundit Martin Sanders picked out two players he could see breaking through to the first-team next after we spoke to him about some of their U-21 squad.

"The youngsters breaking through? Well, we've got some very good youngsters in the academy.

"Jayden Meghoma is probably the best that I've seen. He looks really, really good.

"He looks like a fantastic young player. He's a left-back, which is a big issue for Saints, as they don't have a load of options in that area at the moment. "He looks to be one that will break through. We have loads of wingers, so it's going to be harder to break through as a winger.

Jayden Meghoma and Samuel Amo-Ameyaw

Amo-Ameyaw is a player that will already be on the lips of many Southampton fans, as the young winger is part of the squad this season. The 17-year-old has appeared in seven games already and was handed his first league start against QPR at the start of the campaign.

The player has just come onto the scene at the club, barring one appearance he made in the Premier League last season. He is a player who has a dynamic profile, with electric pace, a love for taking on full-backs, and that raw ability that makes him a dangerous final third threat.

Meghoma is similarly talented, and with Southampton deploying the likes of Jack Stephens, Kyle Walker-Peters, and James Bree at left-back at times this season, there is a clear pathway developing for him to the senior set up.

His ceiling could be enormous and Martin is likely to give him the conditions to thrive in good time, although for the most part both can expect to appear from the bench currently to nurture them carefully.