Comparing Southampton FC and Portsmouth's most exciting wonderkid | OneFootball

Highlights

While they may not have played each other regularly in recent years, the rivalry between Southampton and Portsmouth remains as strong as ever.

With the Saints spending 11 years in the Premier League prior to last season's relegation to the Championship, and Pompey struggling to get out of League One, meetings between the pair have been few and far between.

The last league game between Southampton and Portsmouth came in the Championship back in April 2012 when they played out a 2-2 draw at St Mary's, with the Saints going on to be promoted to the Premier League and Pompey suffering relegation to League One that season.

They did meet in the League Cup in September 2019, with Southampton running out 4-0 winners at Fratton Park.

It has been a turbulent start to life in the Championship for the Saints under Russell Martin, but they will be hoping to challenge for an immediate top flight return this season, while Pompey are currently sitting top of League One and they are on an incredible 21-game unbeaten run.

As the pair attempt to achieve their respective goals this season, we looked at the most exciting wonderkid at each club.

Southampton: Sam Amo-Ameyaw

Winger Amo-Ameyaw spent time in the Tottenham Hotspur academy before making the move to St Mary's last summer.

He made his debut for Southampton against Liverpool on the final day of last season, becoming the youngest ever player to feature for the Saints in the top flight aged 16 years and 314 days.

Amo-Ameyaw put pen-to-paper on his first professional contract with the club this summer, and Martin described his performances during pre-season as a "beautiful surprise", although he stressed the need for caution.

"You’ve got to be really careful with young players but he’s an exceptional talent," Martin told the Daily Echo in July.

"He’s a really exciting player and a great kid. He was 17 a few days ago and he’s signed his first professional contract.

"There’s a real edge to him on the pitch. he’s got a real pitch personality for someone so young. I think the other players really respect his ability and attitude to work.

"We can be excited about him but we can also understand that he is very, very young and he has a lot of work to do.

"For his age, he’s been a beautiful surprise for us in terms of what he can produce. It’s up to us to make him ready for the first team regularly as quickly as possible."

The 17-year-old has made four appearances for Southampton so far this season, and he is likely to receive plenty more minutes in the year ahead.

Portsmouth: Paddy Lane

Winger Lane joined Portsmouth from Fleetwood Town in January, and he has certainly made a big impact at Fratton Park.

Lane was named Fleetwood's Player of the Year and League One Young Player of the Year in the 2021-22 season, and he was handed his senior debut for Northern Ireland in March 2022 after his impressive performances for the Cod Army.

He has played a crucial role for Pompey so far this season, scoring three goals and providing one assist in nine appearances in all competitions, and manager John Mousinho believes there is much more to come from the 22-year-old.

Mousinho told The News last month.