For­mer Eng­land inter­na­tion­al cen­tre-back Osman joined Saints when he was 29 years old in 1988, mak­ing 120 appear­ances for the club. 

Shear­er played along­side the expe­ri­enced pro­fes­sion­al for four years as a young­ster while learn­ing his trade. 

The strik­er picked out Osman when asked the best play­ers he had seen who were capa­ble of using both feet. 

“You may not remem­ber a guy I am going to men­tion, Rus­sell Osman,” Shear­er told The Rest is Foot­ball Pod­cast.

Rus­sell Osman (Image: Dai­ly Echo)

“He was unbe­liev­able and you could­n’t tell if it was left foot or right foot when I was a young­ster at Southamp­ton.

“He used to spray it around with either foot and he was one of the best I have seen. He was incred­i­ble.” 

Osman scored five of his six goals for Saints in the 1989–90 sea­son, in which he buried a brace ver­sus Ever­ton at the Dell in Jan­u­ary 1990. 

Osman went on to play for and man­age Bris­tol City after depart­ing the Dell in 1992 — the same year Shear­er moved to Black­burn Rovers.