WHILE the focus was largely set on the player departing the St Mary’s pitch, James Ward-Prowse exiting for possibly the last time, the one replacing him carried significant weight as well.

When he came on for the Saints skipper with three minutes of normal time remaining in Sunday’s 4-4 draw with Liverpool, Sam Amo-Ameyaw became a record-holder as the youngest-ever player to appear in the Premier League for Saints.

At 16 years and 314 days, Amo-Ameyaw’s professional career still has a long way to go but the earliest signs - those first signs in his brief cameo against Liverpool - were hugely promising.

READ MORE: James Ward-Prowse - 'This club has meant a lot to me'

Coming up against a tired defence who were committing bodies forward and seemingly operating with the defensive principles - or lack thereof - that only the final day of the season can bring, Amo-Ameyaw flashes the skill and confidence that convinced Saints to recruit him from Spurs’ academy.

The hope from Saints fans and indeed anyone connected to the academy is that relegation to the Championship will allow for more opportunities for their talented young cohort as Kami Doyle and Dom Ballard also each made their Premier League debuts in the final two weeks of the season.

Amo-Ameyaw can be added to the list of youngsters with the potential to take the next step and while Sunday was ultimately a melancholic procession of goodbyes for Saints fans - both to certain players and the Premier League itself - the substitute donning number 75 will have given supporters an exciting glimpse into a possible future.

In his 11 minutes played, Amo-Ameyaw managed 11 touches of the ball, completing three of his four dribbles with a pass accuracy of 83%.

All 11 of those touches can be viewed below…