Southampton academy director outlines plan to ‘regain’ reputation

Goldie, who joined from Swansea last summer, said Saints are aiming to "regain" their reputation as one of the most "attractive and productive" academies in the country.

The Scot admitted Saints will look to recruit players from the local area "first and foremost" but will also look to replicate recent successes by signing players from further afield.

Sam Amo-Ameyaw and Jayden Meghoma were both signed from Spurs to great success while Irish duo Romeo Akachuwku and Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh appear next in line for a first-team chance.

In a sit-down interview with Southampton's media team, Goldie explained: "We want to make sure we are dominating the south first.

Exeter-born Tyler Dibling won academy player of the year last season (Image: Adam Davy/PA) "Chris Robinson has been promoted to head of academy recruitment and he will oversee our strategy, predominantly in the south.

“We have built a new talent acquisition team around that to make sure we are targeting those high-potential players that we can bring in across the pathway.

“We have identified a few key areas that we feel we can perform better in. Yes, we have had a lot of success in recent years, Joe and Romeo were signed in the last in the last 18 months.

“They’ve made their debut this season. Sam Amo-Ameyaw was a recruit a few years ago and he’s made his debut but we want to be less reactive.

“There is a real buzz around the place and we are building momentum but we will always look to improve."

He added: “When we are doing gap analysis for the academy and the under-21s we will always look internally to see if we have players who can accelerate in a particular position.

Saints signed a number of academy players on deadline day (Image: Southampton FC) “We look if we have players in a particular profile who can enhance what we are trying to do, which is provide players for the first team.

“If we don’t, we will look externally. We have had a lot of changes in our recruitment department."

Goldie also revealed Saints have set a minute played by teenagers target this season as they look to future proof the club.

The first-team have a strong relationship with the under-21s. Both side train on pitches next to each other at Staplewood, allowing for a more seamless transition.

The under-21s are regularly used as opposition for the first-team while a number of talented teenagers are given senior training opportunities.

Sam Amo-Ameyaw scored his first Saints goal earlier this season (Image: PAWire/Nick Potts) “We want a minimum of 1,000 minutes from teenage players in the academy this year," Goldie explained. "Tyler, Sam, Joe and Romeo have already contributed a significant amount.

“My hope is we will be pushing that marker higher by January. We want to push that further over the next couple of years, to regain our reputation as one of the most attractive and productive academies in the country.

“We want to build on our international exposure for our youth players. We are currently in the top five for international youth players playing between under-15s and under-21s.

“We want three debuts this year. We’ve had two but we won’t push that. It’s important that the team continue to push hard every day and earn that opportunity.”