Southampton's Academy Empire: How One Club Fed The Premier League

Southampton have struggled to sustain Premier League stability over recent years, having been relegated from the English top-flight for the second time in three seasons.

Having garnered the reputation of a yo-yo club to younger fans, it’s easy to forget that the Saints have an illustrious history of producing some of the very best footballers in the game.

With the likes of Gareth Bale, Alan Shearer, Theo Walcott, Luke Shaw and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all dawning the red and white stripes to start their careers.

Southampton academy graduates:

Gareth Bale
Wayne Bridge
Calum Chambers
Adam Lallana
Tyrone Mings
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Luke Shaw
Will Smallbone
Theo Walcott
James Ward-Prowse

The best academy in the country?#SaintsFC pic.twitter.com/g3mcLxLBqO

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) June 14, 2025

In recent years, Saints fans have had the luxury of watching Tyler Dibling’s rise from academy product to one of the most in-demand young players in the country.

With that being said, Football Park takes a look at Southampton’s academy structure and what makes them so special.

The Southampton Way

“We aim to have a first team squad that’s made up of 50% academy graduates.

So any young player that comes through the pathway has that major aspiration and can make that transition” said former Southampton Head of Coaching and Learning, Edd Vahid.

While many high-profile clubs use the academy system as a way to make profit on player sales, Southampton’s approach is to develop players from as young as nine-year old into potential first-team footballers for the club.

Southampton’s talent evaluation process includes the use of psychological profiles, educational references, in-person scouting and sports science testing.

The latter being used to provide insight into the future regarding a player’s predicted height and what they can offer physically.

“This all helps us to decide if we sign, retain, push them to a higher age group or, unfortunately, have to release them” said former academy manager, Matt Hale.

“Our philosophy is to find those best players and work with them on a pathway towards a scholarship at 16 and, ultimately, earning a professional contract at 18.

We set standards and behaviours from an early age so that by the time they are 16 or 17 we’re refining those skills and concentrating on the technical and tactical elements required to play at the highest level.”

Since 2000, 84 academy graduates have gone on to make their professional debut with Southampton - with 24 making over 30 appearances for the Saints.

How does this help the club?

While the ultimate aim is to produce players that become valuable members of the first-team squad such as Adam Lallana, James Ward-Prowse and Danny Ings over the years, there comes a time where Southampton are forced to sell.

However, selling an academy produced player has many financial benefits in comparison to a non-academy sale.

The sale of an academy product allows Southampton to receive a higher profit margin, due to typically low development costs and no transfer fee attached to the player when acquired.

The impacts on Financial Fair Play (FFP) also benefit a club like Southampton when selling a player from the academy.

💫 #SaintsFC’s Tyler Dibling is the first player aged 18 or younger to score multiple goals in the Premier League this season. pic.twitter.com/VVUedYyW7W

— Just Saints (@JustSaints_) December 30, 2024

Financial Fair Play rules state that the sale of a homegrown player counts as 100% profit immediately, boosting the club’s financial results and making it easier to reinvest in transfers.

With many financial advantages to selling homegrown players, Southampton will also receive a boost in reputation having created a pipeline for young talent. This may give the club an edge over competitors when approaching players.

Creating opportunities

Southampton don’t limit their development to just players who have spent years with the club.

The Saints are also known for signing players from other clubs for relatively low fees and selling them on for profit.

Recent examples include Romeo Lavia, who joined Southampton for £10.5 million and was sold for £53 million and Tino Livramento, who was sold for £40 million, having joined the club for £5 million.

Tino Livramento made more tackles (4) and more interceptions (4) than any other Southampton player against Aston Villa.

He also had the second most touches (77) and won the second most dues (7). 💪 pic.twitter.com/brLynPf6fw

— Squawka (@Squawka) November 5, 2021

This approach has allowed Southampton to have the best chance at surviving in the Premier League, while recouping large transfer fees to strengthen the squad going forward.

Despite their recent ups and downs, Southampton have a clear identity on who they are and what they’re aiming to achieve as a football club.

With such an impressive academy and ability to develop talent, the Saints should be in a position to not only benefit themselves long-term but also the rest of the Premier League.