Southampton have earned a reputation as a club that are capable of bringing in and developing young players before allowing them to move on to bigger things.
Who are Southampton’s most expensive sales?
The Saints have used the transfer market to great effect over the years as they have been able to identify gems before selling them for a significant profit after a few seasons.
Most expensive sales | Transfer fee acquired |
|---|---|
Virgil van Dijk | £72.6m |
Romeo Lavia | £53.3m |
Sadio Mane | £35.3m |
Luke Shaw | £32m |
Tino Livramento | £30m |
Fees via Transfermarkt.
Luke Shaw is the only player on the list above who was not initially brought in from another club, showing the club have been able to snap up promising young talent and then reap the benefits of their potential.
Who could be the next player to follow in their footsteps at St. Mary’s? Well, one player who appears to be on his way to being another huge success story on the south coast is Samuel Edozie.
How much was Samuel Edozie worth at Manchester City?
The 20-year-old forward came up through the academy system at Manchester City with FootballTransfers placing his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €2.8m (£2.4m) at the time of his move to Southampton in the summer of 2022.
This was less than three years after his initial xTV of €200k (£171k) at the start of 2020 as his performances for their youth team caused his value to rise and promoted a transfer to the Saints.
Edozie made his breakthrough at U18 level for City during the 2019/20 campaign and went on to rack up five goals and six assists in 22 appearances.
This led to the talented youngster being promoted to U21 duty for the Citizens and the exciting ace continued to catch the eye at the top end of the pitch with eight goals and three assists in 34 matches at that level.
The tricky winger, who made his first-team debut for City in the 2021 Community Shield, also scored one goal and assisted one in three UEFA Youth League matches for the U19 side.
Why did Southampton sign Samuel Edozie?
Southampton secured the then teenager’s services during the 2022 summer transfer window and Ralph Hasenhuttl, who was the manager at the time, described him as a “promising” player with “impressive” technical quality.
The Austrian head coach claimed that the skilful attacker fit the club’s philosophy as a young player with the potential and time to grow and develop over the years to come.
This suggests that the former RB Leipzig boss brought Edozie in with a view to him potentially becoming the next Livramento, or Mane, or even Van Dijk, to pass through the halls on his way to a mega-money transfer to a huge European club in the future.
Livramento, in particular, is an excellent comparison as the English right-back was signed from Chelsea’s academy in the summer of 2021 and instantly became a first-team performer for the Saints.
The former Blues prospect was valued at €10.1m (£8.6m) by FootballTransfers shortly after his move to the club and ended up joining Newcastle United this year for the aforementioned fee of £30m.
Livramento made 34 senior appearances for the club, which included 30 in the Premier League, across his two seasons at St. Mary’s after failing to play a single first-team game during his time with Chelsea.
How has Samuel Edozie performed for Southampton?
Edozie endured a difficult debut season with the Saints as he was thrust into his first year of professional football as part of a team that ended up being relegated to the Championship.
The Englishman racked up 17 Premier League appearances and failed to contribute with a single goal or assist from out wide, whilst he also created just 0.5 chances per game – the joint-tenth most within the squad.
He did, however, offer glimpses of promise with how he handed the physicality of the division with a ground duel success rate of 61%, which shows that the up-and-coming talent is willing to put in the work defensively.
In fact, the 20-year-old ranks within the top 2% of his positional peers among Europe’s top five leagues for tackles made per 90 (2.79) over the last 365 days.
Edozie has now established himself as a regular starter in the Championship for the side so far this season with five starts during the 2023/24 campaign.
The winger scored his first senior goal in a recent 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, whilst his quick footwork has also been on display with two completed dribbles per game.
Only Stuart Armstrong (2.2) and Kyle Walker-Peters (2.4) have been successful in more dribbles per match for Southampton this term, which shows that the former Citizens prodigy has excelled at progressing the team up the pitch.
How much is Samuel Edozie worth now?
FootballTransfers currently rates his xTV at €8.4m (£7.2m), meaning that Edozie’s market value has rocketed up by 200% in one year on the south coast.
His displays have evidently been good enough for his price to rise, an indication that the club have an asset that is growing immensely in value and talent.
Current Southampton manager Russell Martin recently described Edozie as an “exciting” player with “huge” potential and this is backed up by his soaring valuation and improved performances on the pitch this term.
The ex-Manchester City gem looks set for a breakout season in Saints colours if he can maintain his place within the starting XI whilst adding more goals and assists to his game, which is possible when you consider his aforementioned form at academy level.
Hasenhuttl truly struck gold when he decided to bring the exceptional youngster to St. Mary’s last year. The club now have another superb prospect who could net them a hefty payday in the future, as the likes of van Dijk, Mane, Livramento, and Lavia, among many others, have done in the past.
Hopefully, his value will continue to soar throughout the rest of the campaign and over the years to come with Southampton set to benefit hugely from his talents on and off the pitch.
