The international break is often a time for most teams in the Championship to rest and recover, but that isn’t the case for Southampton.
The South Coasters have one of the strongest squads in the division, so naturally, many of their players have departed the country on international duty.
Their academy, too, boasts a number of supremely talented players who have been called up to represent their respective countries at youth level.
Samuel Amo-Ameyaw is one of those and has been representing England’s under-18s in the Pinatar Super Cup in Spain.
Samuel Amo-Ameyaw picks up MVP award
Amo-Ameyaw is one of the brightest prospects at Southampton‘s prestigious Staplewood academy and has already appeared for Russell Martin‘s senior team aged just 17.
The left-footed wide player was sensational for the young Three Lions in Spain and scooped up the Most Valuable Player award at the tournament.
He netted in the opening game against the Czech Republic before starring against Germany and the Netherlands in the final, which ended in a 2-1 triumph.
Amo-Ameyaw wasn’t the only Saints player who featured, Jayden Meghoma and Tyler Dibbling also impressed.
Martin certainly would’ve kept tabs on the promising trio, though, Amo-Ameyaw, in particular, may have staked a major claim to feature for the first team in the remaining 10 games of the season.
Russell Martin well aware of Samuel Amo-Ameyaw
Martin is well aware of just how talented the former Tottenham Hotspur academy player is.
Speaking last July, the Saints boss heaped praise on Amo-Ameyaw: “You’ve got to be really careful with young players but he’s an exceptional talent.
“He’s a really exciting player and a great kid. He was 17 a few days ago and he’s signed his first professional contract.
“There’s a real edge to him on the pitch. he’s got a real pitch personality for someone so young. I think the other players really respect his ability and attitude to work.
“We can be excited about him but we can also understand that he is very, very young and he has a lot of work to do.
“For his age, he’s been a beautiful surprise for us in terms of what he can produce. It’s up to us to make him ready for the first team regularly as quickly as possible.”
If Saints need a spark late on in games, the jet-heeled winger could get his chance to impress the St Mary’s faithful.
He could be a useful wildcard for Martin and one that may catch a lot of opposition full-backs off guard.