Talented youngster learns to produce

SPEAKING at the start of the season, Russell Martin warned that Samuel Edozie was primed for an assault on the Championship.

- Chris Dunlavy

“Sam is a good player with a huge amount of potential and talent,” said the Southampton manager. “He’s not played a huge amount of games but he is going to hurt some people this season and it’s up to us to make sure he does that regularly and consistently.”

It might have taken until Christmas, but the former Manchester City winger is finally proving his boss right.

Edozie spent most of last month kicking his heels on the bench after his impressive summer form tailed off.

But having equalised against Coventry just seven minutes after coming on as a substitute, the 20-year-old then marked his first start since October with the opening goal in last weekend’s 4-0 demolition of Blackburn.

“I’ve had to be patient,” admitted Edozie. “But I’ve worked hard and I knew that if I got my chance I would take it.”

For Saints, too, patience was required. Schooled at City – after taking his early steps at Millwall - where he starred in their all-conquering Premier League 2 side, Edozie was handed his full debut in the 2021 Community Shield and later described as an “incredible player” by Pep Guardiola.

A £10m move to Southampton followed in the summer of 2022, but it quickly became evident that while Edozie was abundantly gifted, he was also raw.