WILL SMALLBONE HAS capped a breakthrough campaign at Southampton by winning the club’s Young Player of the Season award.
The 20-year-old made 10 first-team appearances and marked his debut with a goal in January’s 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup third round.
Smallbone was recently rewarded with a new four-year contract by the Saints, with manager Ralph Hasenhüttl commenting: “Will is a young man who is part of the future of this football club. He has made some big steps this season, and he is someone who has a lot of potential to continue to grow as a player.”
The English-born midfielder has represented the Republic of Ireland on the international stage, earning U19 caps as recently as March of last year.
In June, he spoke of his desire to follow in the footsteps of clubmates Michael Obafemi and Shane Long by breaking into the Irish senior set-up.
“It’s a massive dream of mine to go on and become a full international,” he said. “To have people like Michael and Shane in the team who have both played for Ireland is really helpful.”
Southampton’s overall Player of the Season award went to striker Danny Ings.
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