Andrew Surman has committed his international future to England after being called up for the under-21s.
Though Surman was has been brought up in Bitterne, he was born in Johannesburg and both England under-21 boss Stuart Pearce and South Africa manager Carlos Alberto Pereira were at St Mary's to watch him play against Stoke.
He excelled that day, scoring Saints' equaliser, and the under-21 call-up couldn't have followed much quicker.
As a result, Surman has now committed his future to England.
Surman will be in the squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Montenegro and Bulgaria next week.
He said: "I am really chuffed to be called up. It is a huge honour and I am thrilled to be involved.
"It is very flattering to have two different countries watching me but I have opted for England.
"I spoke to Stuart Pearce on Wednesday night when he phoned to ask about my situation.
"He said he wanted to include me in this squad and asked if I saw my future with England and I said I did.
"These games are both qualifiers so I can't swap afterwards, but that's fine. I'm just really happy to be called up".
Full story: See today's Daily Echo.
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