A former Southampton youngster has revealed why he controversially left Everton in favour of joining the South Coast club.
Southampton have a long history of producing first-teamers from their Staplewood academy, with Matt Le Tisier and Alan Shearer being the poster boys.
Due to their glowing reputation in developing young players, the club have been able to attract talented teenagers from academies across the country.
Romeo Lavia and Tino Livramento, who joined from Manchester City and Chelsea, are perfect examples of that.
The duo flourished in the Southampton first team and departed last summer for a combined total of £98m.
Thierry Small was another player who joined the South Coasters with real promise and in a recent interview with London News Online, he revealed all on his controversial switch from Everton.
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Thierry Small reveals why he signed for Southampton
Small became Everton’s youngest-ever player when he appeared in an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday aged 16 years and 176 days in January 2021.
The England youth international was tipped to reach lofty heights and Everton were keen to tie him down to a three-year deal.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich were all keeping tabs on his contract situation yet it was Southampton who he decided to join not long after celebrating his 17th birthday.
Speaking on his controversial Everton exit, Small said: “The way Everton was, I wish I could’ve left on better terms.
“The way it came out wasn’t completely true – there was a lot of false speculation about the move to Southampton.
“Going there was just a family decision to better my career. You have got to take risks – sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don’t, it’s just part of life.
“It was a good experience, in terms of being around the first-team environment at 17. I don’t think a lot of players would’ve been doing that at my age, so the experience of just that alone was unbelievable.
“It’s hard to adapt because I was new to first-team football. I went from being a scholar straight into a first-team environment in the Premier League. Transition-wise it was a little hard for me mentally to get used to that, it took a bit of a while.
“But then you have a few loans and develop, it’s a natural part of the game – you grow, not just as a player but also as a person.”
Thierry Small reinvigorated at Charlton
During his time at Saints, Small had loan spells at Port Vale and St. Mirren before his contract was mutually terminated earlier this year.
The 19-year-old joined Charlton on a free transfer in February and has become a fixture of the League One outfit, playing every minute of the last seven games.
Small is beginning to fulfil his early promise playing under former Saints manager Nathan Jones yet he insists the best is still to come.
“I’ll be honest, they’ve only seen a little bit of what I’m capable of. I feel with more experience and working under the manager, that I can reach some higher levels in my game.”