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Southampton FC are on the oldest clubs in England and have a long and rich history of producing world-class talent. In recent times, the Saints' production line reached new heights after having produced twenty-eight internationals since the turn of the decade.
The opening of the Markus Liebherr Pavilion, a £30 million training complex in 2014, turned a corner for the Saints. The South Coast side holds a Category 1 status in the Premier League's new Elite Player Performance Plan and currently has more than 20 international players in their academy.
Looking back at the number of big names that came through the academy, it's a difficult task to pick out the ten best names.
10. Theo Walcott
Signed by Southampton FC at the age of 11, the pacy forward is the youngest player to score for the senior team as well as the youngest to make an appearance for the reserves and the first team.
Theo Walcott was an instant sensation when he made his debut for the South Coast side in 2005 as a 16-year old. He played 21 times for the Saints, scoring 5 goals, and ended the season with a call-up to the 2006 England World Cup squad under Sven Goran Eriksson.
The following season saw him moving to the Emirates for a fee of around £5 million. Almost 12 seasons, 397 appearances, 108 goals, and two FA Cups Walcott moved to Everton in 2018 where he currently plies his trade.
Now in his 30s, Walcott looks far from his best, with injuries playing spoilsport during his promising career.
9. Wayne Bridge
A local lad, Bridge joined the Saints Academy pretty late at the age of 16 and started his career as a centre-forward. He made his debut for the first team in 1998 and played a full season as an attacker before being converted to a left-back the next season.
Bridge was voted as the Saints Player of the Year for the 2000-01 season as Southampton finished tenth in their final season at The Dell. After five seasons with the Saints, the defender moved to Chelsea in 2003 for a reported fee of £7 million.
After a bright start at Stamford Bridge, Bridge faded out of the first team after struggling with injuries eventually joining Manchester City in 2009. Five years later the full-back hung up his boot after having won the Premier League, FA Cup, and the League Cup.
8. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
A part of the Southampton Academy from the age of 7, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rose through the ranks before debuting at the age of 16 in 2010, becoming the second-youngest player to make an appearances for the Saints behind Theo Walcott.
Like Walcott, Chamberlain made an immediate impact at the St Marys'. During his first full season with the Saints, the Ox - as he is called - made 39 appearances and scored 9 times as he helped them earn promotion to the Championship.
A move to Wenger's Arsenal followed the next season after Southampton agreed to a fee of around £12 million for the teenager. With an air of uncertainty around the future of Wenger and Arsenal, 'the Ox' moved to Liverpool in 2018 after 6 seasons and 198 appearances for the London side.
Chamberlain is now an important part of Jurgen Klopp's and looks set to win the Premier League with the Reds, having already won the Champions League last season.
7. Martin Chivers
The Tottenham Hotspur legend incidentally started his career at the South Coast with Southampton. Chivers joined the Saints nursery club CPC Sports after writing to the club for a trial.
The forward spent only a brief time at the Academy before being handed his debut in 1962. Chivers became an integral part of the Saints team quickly after his debut as helped the team into the First Division three years after his first appearance.
Chivers moved to Bill Nicholson's Tottenham Hotspur for a then club-record fee of £125,000 after 6 years at the Dell. The striker scored an impressive 106 goals in 190 appearances for the Saints.
Whilst at Tottenham Chivers made 367 appearances and scored 174 times in an eight-season spell before moving abroad to join the Swiss side Servette in 1974. Chivers was part of Bill Nicholson's side that won the 1971-72 UEFA Cup - the only time Spurs won the competition.
After 21 years as a player, Chivers called it a day in 1983 after a stint with Barnet.
6. Adam Lallana
Signed as a 12-year old from AFC Bournemouth after paying a compensation of around £20,000, Lallana rose through the youth system before making his debut for the Saints in 2006.
The midfielder became a regular two seasons later but saw his side suffer relegation to League One after a dismal show during the 2008-09 season. An instrumental figure since, Lallana guided the Saints to back-to-back promotions as they ended their seven-hiatus from the Premier League.
After making 265 appearances and scoring 60 times, Lallana moved to Liverpool in 2014. The midfielder looks likely to leave the Merseyside this year with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
5. Mick Channon
A rare example of a Southampton Academy graduate who spent more than 10 years with the club. Mick Channon joined the Saints as a 16-year old and made his debut a year later in 1966.
A natural goalscorer, Channon was given the task of leading the Saints attacking lineup after Martin Chivers left for Tottenham Hotspur. The striker seamlessly filled the void left by Chivers as he kept the Saints afloat in the First Division till 1974.
Three years in the second division was followed by a move to Manchester City before rejoining the Saints in 1979 after they gained promotion to the First Division. The second spell at the Dell ended pretty quickly as he joined Newcastle United in 1982.
Channon called it a day in 1987, five years after moving from Southampton. The former England international remains as the leading goalscorer for the club with 228 goals followed by Matt Le Tissier. With 607 appearances for the Saints, Channon is the second-highest in Southampton's all-time list. He is 19th in the list of all-time goal scorers for England with 21 goals in 46 appearances for the Three Lions.
After hanging his boots, Channon became a successful racehorse trainer.
4. Terry Paine
The name is synonymous with Southampton FC as their old stadium, The Dell. Terry Paine is arguably the Saint's greatest ever player having joined the club's academy as a 16-year old in 1956.
Paine broke into the Saints' first-team a year later and hardly ever missed a game for them during the next 17 years. A technically gifted player who was adept at playing with both feet, Paine's rise coincided with Southampton's improved fortunes as they reached the First Division for the first time in their history, almost nine years after he made his debut.
A versatile player, Paine played practically everywhere in the midfield for the Saints, spending a total of 18 seasons at the Dell, amassing over 800 appearances and scoring around 187 goals.
Paine left the club in 1974 to join Hereford United after the Saints suffered their first relegation from the First Division. The midfielder retired six years later at Cheltenham Town ending a 23-year long professional career.
Paine was part of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup and now serves as an honorary president for the Saints.
3. Gareth Bale
The greatest player to come out of Southampton academy in this century, Gareth Bale joined the Saints as a 10-year old in 1999. The Welsh international rose through the ranks for 6 years before debuting in 2006 at the age of 16 years - the third-youngest player in Southampton's history behind Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Bale's rise in the world of football was simply breathtaking. During the next six years, Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 won the PFA Player's Player of the Year award twice, FWA Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year and the Premier League Player of the season before completing a record breaking transfer to Real Madrid in 2013.
The Welshman is now one best players in the world and has four Champions League winners medals to his name.
2. Alan Shearer
It is often forgotten that the all-time leading goal scorer in the history of Premier League is a Southampton academy product. Signed by the Saints at the age of 15, Alan Shearer spent two years in the academy before making his debut for the first team.
The striker spent five seasons in the First Division with Southampton FC amassing 158 appearances and scoring 43 times before joining Blackburn Rovers for a record-breaking fee of £3.6 million in the newly formed Premier League.
Shearer spent four seasons at Ewood Park and won his only Premier League title with Blackburn before moving to join his boyhood club Newcastle United. The striker went on to spend 10 seasons at St James Park before retiring from the sport in 2006.
Alan Shearer remains miles ahead of all the other Premier League players with 260 goals in 410 appearances.
1. Matt Le Tissier
The nickname "Le God" in itself is a testimony to how the Saints faithful view the striker. Matt Le Tissier belongs to a rare class of players who played for a single club in their entire professional career.
Signed at the age of 16 in 1985, Le Tissier was a gifted attacking-minded player who eventually broke into the first team a year after joining the academy. The striker quickly established himself as one of the key players in the club of the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s as Southampton enjoyed their longest stay in the premier division.
Blessed with exquisite technical skill and an eye for the goal, Le Tissier spent 16 seasons in the South Coast and almost single-handedly ensured top-flight status for the Saints on more than one occasion. He amassed 540 appearances for Southampton and scored 209 times before ending his professional career in 2002 before joining non-professional side Easleight in a two-season spell.
Matt Le Tissier deservedly scored the last goal at Southampton's old stadium 'The Dell' before it was demolished in 2001. He is also the side's second-highest goal scorer as well as the fourth-highest appearance maker.
