Teddy Sheringham, a former England striker, acknowledges that he has been impressed by a Southampton young player.
One of the wealthiest programs for developing talent is Southampton’s youth academy. Several of England’s greatest players, including James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw, and Gareth Bale, began their ascent to the top at Staplewood.
Other young Southampton players who have a lot of potential have benefited from their success.
Tyler Dibling and Samuel Amo-Ameyaw appear to be the most promising players up-and-coming; Amo-Ameyaw was awarded the MVP of the Pinatar Cup after England’s under-18 team won the competition.
The duo have also featured for the first team this term, with Dibling making his Championship debut in a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday while his teammate has featured three times in the third tier. Surprisingly, former England striker Teddy Sheringham hasn’t selected either of those youngsters for praise, instead directing his adulation towards 17-year-old Josh Pitts.
Teddy Sheringham praises Southampton youngster Josh Pitts
Sheringham knows a thing or two about scoring goals.
One of the greatest English strikers of all time, the 58-year-old retired with 146 Premier League goals in 418 appearances, ranking him 13th in the competition’s history.
Including his incredible goalscoring powers, Sheringham also lifted three Premier League titles, one Champions League and one FA Cup during his time at Manchester United.
Sheringham is therefore well-placed to scout the next generation of strikers, with the Englishman left ‘quite impressed’ by Saints’ young striker Josh Pitts.
Speaking on the Football Academy, a series that follows young players and staff of the academy at Southampton, he said: “It’s always nice to have a centre forward that scores goals as well, number nine [Josh Pitts] has scored a few in the semi-final, yeah I’ve been quite impressed.”
Who is Josh Pitts
To receive praise from one of the greatest ever strikers on English shores points towards Pitts enjoying a successful career.
Currently starring for the Saints under-18 side after signing a scholarship in July 2023, the 17-year-old has scored a respectable four goals in 14 appearances this term.
The 2007-born striker has dreams of one day breaking into Russell Martin‘s senior setup, and while he’s a long way from turning that into a reality, he’s continuing to find his feet for the under-18s.
After all, he did score 30 goals in just 18 games across the Saints underage groups last season, including a brace on his under-18s debut for Chelsea and was spotted in first-team training in January.
The next step in his development is to break into the under-21s next season where he’ll hope to catch the eye of Martin and hopefully continue to impress Sheringham.
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