Season › 2021-22 › General Forum How's Thierry Small getting on with the Saints? By Michael Kenrick 02/04/2022 Share: It would probably be fairest to ask this question at the end of the season, and see how well that famed path to the first team has worked for the wantaway Everton left-back in his new career at Southampton.Remember, the much-hyped youngster who had impressed with Everton Academy and U23 sides was given his senior debut by Carlo Ancelotti against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup last year. But that was not enough to persuade the 17-year-old defender to sign a very generous professional contract with the Blues, ending 6 years with the Academy. One of the main reasons given for accepting a place with The Saints was, ironically, that he felt his advancement would be stalled with Lucas Digne and Niels Nkounkou ahead of him. Now, both players are elsewhere with Vitaliy Mykolenko joining Everton in January 2022.Small had still not played for the Saints first team although he had sat on the bench as an unsed sub for 3 Premier League games after Christmas… but that would change when they faced Coventry in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, Small getting a starting debut just a year after getting an almost identical senior debut with Everton. But it didn't appear to go all that well, according to this BBC snippet: "Saints boss Hasenhuttl showed his dissatisfaction at his side's first-half display by making a double half-time substitution, replacing Adam Armstrong and teenage debutant Thierry Small with Walker-Peters and Stuart Armstrong."And Small has been back with the Saints U23s ever since. Reader Comments (4) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Tony Everan 1 Posted 03/04/2022 at 10:12:12 It's easy to get carried away with some very prominent performances from the kids in the U23s. In the cold light of day, most of them are still in the early stages of their development. The likes of Wayne Rooney making an earthquake impact at 16 is an extreme rarity.I watched Thierry Small in games for the U23s and liked what I saw. The potential is clear and his physical strength could translate to that potential being realised earlier. Still for the vast majority, Small included, the learning process and maturity needs more time and experience. Conor Gallagher of Chelsea has had numerous loans before he has broken through at Palace; he has learned the game the hard way. Our own Lewis Warrington is now out on loan with Tranmere, getting experience of how to use himself against hard men in competitive games challenging for promotion. He will grow as a player for it. I can see Southampton sending Thierry Small out on loan next season for him to get game time and develop. He's got all the potential but that's all it is, the hard bit is proving it in the real world, with consistency.We still have Small's ex-houseshare mate, Stan Mills (son of Danny Mills). He has stood out and looks one to follow. I think we have a few very good young players in this bracket. We need to identify only the best, the standouts, and sensibly extend their contracts before the likes of Southampton poach them. Which is a shame after 6 years of development from our team. John Raftery 2 Posted 03/04/2022 at 20:16:33 Interesting, and thank you, Michael, for the update. Frank Thomas 3 Posted 06/04/2022 at 12:15:21 What did we receive for Thierry Small? Michael Kenrick 4 Posted 06/04/2022 at 14:45:32 Good question, Frank.I've tried searching and found nothing. No further word on any tribunal.Transfermarkt give him a market value of only £90k, but they don't list a fee either. Maybe he can be classed by the club as a Covid casualty and valued for a sizeable chunk of the £170M lost???? Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads Find out how to browse ad-free and support ToffeeWeb © ToffeeWeb