Jayden Meghoma departs Southampton for Brentford.

More recently, Southampton’s transfer strategy has been to cherry-pick young players from England’s premier academies and provide a road to the first team.

This has proven to be mostly effective, as evidenced by Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, Gavin Bazunu, and Samuel Edozie.

Meghoma is another example of this, as Southampton fought off a host of other teams to sign the 16-year-old left-back from Tottenham Hotspur for 2022.

Martin gave Meghoma his first taste of senior football in the cup competitions last season, and the left-back impressed, particularly against Walsall in the FA Cup.

Martin praised then-17-year-old Meghoma for his performance in the 4-0 win over Walsall, stating, “We have some talented young players.” Jayden was remarkable in my opinion; he was so good, talented, and young – playing in the Championship at that age is difficult.

“I don’t think many people are doing that at this age.” He came in today because he deserved it, and he performed admirably. “He’s going to be a really exciting talent for the club going forward.”

However, Meghoma had just a year remaining on his contract and was linked with a move abroad since he could sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January and believed he was ready for first-team action.

Brentford signed Meghoma for £10 million in the last week of the transfer window to keep him in England.

Meghoma discusses the reason for leaving Southampton for Brentford.

Jayden Meghoma departs Southampton for Brentford.

More recently, Southampton’s transfer strategy has been to cherry-pick young players from England’s premier academies and provide a road to the first team.

This has proven to be mostly effective, as evidenced by Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, Gavin Bazunu, and Samuel Edozie.

Meghoma is another example of this, as Southampton fought off a host of other teams to sign the 16-year-old left-back from Tottenham Hotspur for 2022.

Martin gave Meghoma his first taste of senior football in the cup competitions last season, and the left-back impressed, particularly against Walsall in the FA Cup.

Martin praised then-17-year-old Meghoma for his performance in the 4-0 win over Walsall, stating, “We have some talented young players.” Jayden was remarkable in my opinion; he was so good, talented, and young – playing in the Championship at that age is difficult.

“I don’t think many people are doing that at this age.” He came in today because he deserved it, and he performed admirably. “He’s going to be a really exciting talent for the club going forward.”

However, Meghoma had just a year remaining on his contract and was linked with a move abroad since he could sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January and believed he was ready for first-team action.

Brentford signed Meghoma for £10 million in the last week of the transfer window to keep him in England.

Meghoma discusses the reason for leaving Southampton for Brentford.

While it’s easy to preach patience from afar, with Kyle Walker-Peters, Charlie Taylor, Ryan Manning, and Juan Larios obstructing his first-team road, it’s clear why Meghoma thought a transfer was necessary for his career.

Brentford are in a full-back crisis, with Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey out with long-term injuries, therefore Thomas Frank has been fielding centre-backs on either side of his defense.

As a result, Meghoma may believe he is more likely to be handed opportunities at Brentford, especially considering the club’s low chances of relegation.

After joining the Bees, Meghoma shared his experience playing with Southampton’s first team, stating that it was an incredible sensation to play in front of large audiences. “That was an incredible sensation and experience.

The defender went on to explain what brought him to Brentford, saying: “It’s been an incredible sensation meeting Thomas Frank and everyone here. It’s an incredible feeling to finally arrive here.

“Thomas was a significant reason I came here in the first place. He really sold me on the idea, and I believe this is a location where I can enhance my growth, so I’m quite thrilled to get started.

“As a young player, that was one of the primary things that appealed to me and Brentford: Thomas’ style of play, his interaction with young players, and how he conducts himself is incredible. Simply conversing with him sold it to me.

“I want to be a Premier League football player, I want to play a lot of minutes for Brentford, and ultimately be the best player I can be.”

Should Meghoma be successful under Frank at Brentford? Southampton might be left regretting what could have been.

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