Report: Southampton and Club Brugge want talented EFL teenager

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Southampton are in the race to sign highly-rated youngster Caleb Chukwuemeka from Northampton Town, according to the Daily Mail.

The Saints are keen to sign the 18-year-old who has broken into the Cobblers’ first-team during the 2020/21 campaign.

Last season the striker bagged 16 goals and claimed 14 assists for the club’s under-18 ranks.

Southampton aren’t the only interested party, with Belgian giants Club Brugge also keen on the player.

He has scored twice this season from his 17 outings, although he has only started twice in Keith Curle’s team.

Norwich and Bournemouth are also keen on the player who has a younger brother in the Aston Villa academy.

Chukwuemeka hasn’t signed a professional deal with the Cobblers and right now it would only take a small compensation fee to land him.

He scored against the Southampton under-21s in the EFL Trophy earlier in the campaign and that caught the eye of the Saints’ staff.

It seems likely that the teenager would initially join up with the development squads if he was to check in at St Mary’s.

TBR View – Youngster could become future star

Southampton must be close to the top of club’s to join for the country’s younger talents.

They might not be one of the biggest names in the country but they do have a fantastic history of developing players.

Several players have come through the academy and gone onto big things. Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, to name a few.

In Ralph Hasenhuttl they also have a manager right now who isn’t afraid to dip into his academy ranks.

That should give Chukwuemeka confidence that if he continues to impress, he could be playing Premier League football in no time.