SAINTS head of youth recruitment Dan Rice will departing the club for a move to Everton, according to a report in The Athletic.

Rice joined Saints two years ago from his role with the Football Association (FA) and now looks set to leave the South Coast for Merseyside with the aformentioned report stating that a deal has been agreed for him to depart St Mary's at the end of the season.

Previously linked with a move to Newcastle United by reputable youth football Twitter page The Secret Scout, Rice will instead be joining Everton as their new head of emerging talent with a focus on recruiting 16-21 year-olds.

READ MORE: 'Looking really good' - Saints defender issues message for returning Livramento

Saints have it a point of emphasis in recent years to recruit from rival academies and this season have signed Sam Amo-Ameyaw and Jayden Meghoma from Spurs.

It remains to be seen how Rice's exit will affect Saints' pursuit of the next wave of young talent from across the country.

The behind the scenes set-up of the club will be going through a host of changes this summer as director of football operations Matt Crocker gets set to depart with former Manchester academy director Jason Wilcox coming in as director of football.

Crocker's exit comes just months after Joe Shields - only hired in the summer as Saints' new head of recruitment - left the club for Chelsea.