Saints have jumped into action to sign TWO players on the first day of the transfer window.

Lee Molyneux has joined on a free transfer from Everton, signing a two and half year contract that runs until June 2011.

And winger Ryan Smith’s loan move from Millwall has been made permanent.

While all the focus has been, and will remain, on who will leave St Mary’s during January, Saints have quickly moved to bolster their squad after the window opened earlier today.

Molyneux is a 19-year-old left sided player, primarily a full back, and will add to Jan Poortvliet’s options in that department.

Smith, 22, has been on loan at Saints from League One high-fliers Millwall since the start of October, but due to injury has only made four starts and one sub appearance.

The pacy winger, a former Arsenal trainee who Millwall paid Derby £150,000 for in July, has been signed on a free with a contract that runs until the summer.

The signing of Molyneux, who has represented England at under-16, 17 and 18 level, will inevitably lead to questions over the future of Rudi Skacel.

Regular fixture Saints tried to offload the high wage earner in the summer but the Czech Republic international turned down a move to Ipswich.

Skacel has since come back into the fold and become a regular fixture at left back, a position where the only other cover is teenager Joseph Mills and Andrew Surman.

Poortvliet rates Mills highly but has been reluctant to make him a regular at this early stage of his career.

As for Surman, Poortvliet prefers to use him in midfield.

Molyneux has been released by Everton after failing to the breakthrough from the reserves into the first team, with Leighton Baines and Joleon Lescott having filled the left back role between them.

Molyneux, who played alongside Theo Walcott and Micah Richards for England’s under-16s when he was just 14, is known as something of a set-piece specialist and will be considered available for selection having already trained with Saints on several occasions.

He is not to be confused with Weymouth-born defender Lee Molyneaux, who was once on Pompey’s books and who has played for Basingstoke Town.